


The Peace Within

by darkchakram



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Clexa, F/F, Femslash, Grounder Myth, Polis, Slow Burn, grounders
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-04
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2018-09-28 06:19:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 43,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10076804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkchakram/pseuds/darkchakram
Summary: Clexa AU set in the Star Wars Universe. Clarke Wanheda Griffin is a Jedi Apprentice in the Old Republic who has special skills as a peacemaker and negotiator. Her mettle will be tested when she’s brought face to face with her dark side opponent, Sith Apprentice, Leksa kom Trikru.





	1. Home

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own neither the characters from the television series The 100 nor those from the Star Wars Universe. Just playing with them for fun.  
> Rating: Mature (later chapters).

The familiar sights, sounds, and smells of the Jedi temple served as a calming force on Jedi Apprentice, Clarke Wanheda Griffin. The hallowed halls had been her home as long as she could remember. And, it wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy serving the Republic by carrying out its missions with Master Anya, It was just that she missed the comforts of her own bed, the routine of her classroom studies, the rotation of the mess hall menu, and the twinkling lights of Coruscant. She fervently hoped that after she made Knight she could stay at the temple as an instructor or serve on the esteemed Jedi Council. 

Clarke knew that her lack of adventurous spirit set her apart from the other apprentices in her cohort. Indra Tondici’s apprentice, Octavia Blake craved battle. She always returned to Coruscant ready to leave for the next mission. Clarke often envied the girl’s vivacity and everyone envied Octavia’s prowess with a lightsaber. She was by far the most skilled apprentice with the blade. Raven Reyes Spacewalker, Sinclair Mech Inik’s pupil, preferred the cold vastness of space to the confines of the city center. She was one with her starfighter. It was as if the machine was a skin that she crawled into rather than a tool that she simply manipulated. Where Octavia was gifted in battle, and Raven in mechanics, Clarke’s only real skill was in dealing with people. She was a negotiator. Which was why she and Master Anya were consistently sent on missions regarding treaties, trade agreements, and the like. 

The sanctuary of her private room was a welcomed sight as the door slid open with the slide of her key card. Clarke went straight to work unpacking her bag. She sorted her dirty clothes out first, placing them in the small hamper that sat at the foot of her single bed. She needed to make a run to the laundry facilities but decided it could wait until morning. She still had two pairs of breeches and one tunic clean. Clarke hung them in her small closet and then grabbed her toiletry kit from her bag. She slid open the door to the spartan bathroom. The apprentices shared shower facilities which were located at the end of each hallway of the dormitory. The personal bathrooms in their quarters were only equipped with a tiny basin for washing up, a mirror with medicine cabinet, and a toilet. Clarke checked her reflection in the mirror. The last trip had been draining. She could see the tiredness under her blue eyes even though she was only eighteen years old. A couple of days of rest would do her some good. Plus, she realized looking at how long her blonde hair had gotten, she needed a haircut. But like the laundry, it could wait until tomorrow, she decided. The intercom indicator at her front door dinged. She pressed the green button, “Yes?”

“Hey Griffin, it’s Spacewalker, Blake’s with me. Let us in.”

Clarke opened the door and the other two apprentices piled into her room, taking over her private space as if it were their own quarters. Raven plopped down into Clarke's dark grey moon chair, slinging her legs over the metal frame. “So, what was Tatooine like?” Raven asked. “Did you see the Dune Sea?” Her dark eyes burned with curiosity about the desert world that she'd never visited.

“The Dune Sea? Who gives a crap about a bunch of sand?” Octavia interrupted. She'd made herself comfortable on Clarke's bed. “Did you go to Mos Eisley? Is it as lawless as people say?” 

“It was dry, I saw it from space, and yes, Mos Eisley is a hellpit.” Clarke answered the questions in the succession in which they were asked. 

“Did you get into any fights?” stars danced in Octavia’s intrepid blue eyes.

“No,” Clarke shook her head. “If we end up a fight, it means I haven’t done my job right, Octavia. You’d do well to remember that.”

“Master Indra says that sometimes that fighting is our only option.” Octavia's square jaw twitched defensively.

“That’s true,” Clarke agreed, “But it should always be our last option.”

Octavia shrugged. “You sound like Master Lincoln.”

Raven piped in, “He’s hot.”

“Raven!” Clarke gasped.

“She’s right!” Octavia agreed. “But, you better not let Finn hear you say that.”

"That ship has sailed," Raven grunted. She'd had had a brief and clandestine relationship with the known smuggler. As far as Clarke knew, only she and Octavia had been privy to the affair. Although Clarke wondered if Master Sinclair Mech Inik hadn't realized what was happening and shut it down.

“It doesn’t matter anyway guys. You know what our teachings on attachment are.” Clarke warned.

“I never said anything about attachment. But you gotta have some fun sometimes Clarke. You know the horizontal kind?” Raven teased.

Clarke laughed along with the girls although she personally had never experienced the horizontal fun that the other two seemed to enjoy so much. Actually, she was glad she wasn’t into boys. They were such a distraction for Raven and Octavia. Well, boys and girls were a distraction for Raven. A distraction that a Jedi apprentice could not afford. Falling in love was forbidden for a Jedi. In Clarke’s mind, it made no sense to indulge in feelings that could never be seen to completion. 

The girls' revelry was cut short by Master Anya cutting through Clarke’s intercom. “Griffin, the Council wants to see us in a half-hour. Hope you haven’t unpacked. It looks like we are headed to the Arkadia system, the peace talks there are tenuous, they may need someone with your special skill.”

“Yes, Master,” Clarke punched the intercom’s off button harder than she needed to.

“Lucky,” Octavia huffed.

Clarke didn’t feel lucky. Sometimes she wondered why she’d been born with special peacekeeping abilities. But she had. Everyone said that her very presence brought order out of chaos. But she had been born with it and felt it her duty to use her force gift for the benefit of all sentient life. “Yep, lucky me,” Clarke forced a smile. “See you guys when I get back.

“May the Force be with you,” Raven called as the other two girls left so that Clarke could get her gear in order. 

 

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Halfway across the galaxy, the Sith Master towered over his kneeling young apprentice. His dark cowl was pulled over his head but the light from the three full moons was bright enough that his lips could be seen and were almost purple in the glow. “You will go to the Arkadia system, Leksa kom Trikru, there you will tell our contact that the plan is ready to implement. If he is unable to complete the job, you must finish it yourself. And, you must not fail to retrieve the package. The Force will be your guide. Kill any Jedi who stand in your way. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Master.” Leksa kept her green eyes cast to the cold ground.

“And remember, to hesitate is to falter. It is weakness. You must act and act decisively without remorse.”

“Yes, Lord Titus. It will be done.”

Leksa’s red cape billowed in the Almanian winds as she headed for her ship.


	2. Cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Masters Anya and Lincoln make their way to Arkadia III.

The warm luxuries of the chancellor’s yacht were supposed to offset the frigid cold of hyperspace, but Clarke found herself chilled to the bone, nonetheless. She tried hard not to shiver as she sat between Masters Anya and Lincoln in the chancellor’s visiting room. It perturbed her that no one else seemed cold in the slightest. Master Anya had even forgone the more formal Jedi robe for a short-sleeved tunic and knee-length leggings. Master Lincoln was dressed in the usual dark brown robe of the Jedi Knight but he was sipping on the iced beverage that Chancellor Jaha had offered them. Clarke had taken one of the drinks to be polite but it sat on the table in front of her, untouched except for the initial sip she’d taken when the chancellor had handed it to her. 

The Jedi, she learned in a quick briefing before they’d left the temple, were traveling to the Arkadia system at the request of Chancellor Jaha. The people of his war torn planet had finally decided to lay down arms and negotiate peace. Unfortunately, the peace talks hadn’t been going very well. The people of Azgeda, the predominantly ice covered lands of the north of the planet had already pulled out of the peace conference, the Mountain People which had had a long standing feud against the Woods people were on the verge of walking out themselves. The chancellor hoped that with Jedi intervention, particularly the gift of young Clarke Griffin, that Azgeda could be brought back into the fold and the other factions would calm down. But Clarke could tell that even though he’d heard people speak of her peacemaking abilities, Chancellor Jaha didn’t have much faith in one as young as her. 

“As you know, this is our home planet, Chancellor. We will do everything in our power to affect peace,” Master Lincoln reassured in his calm manner.

“And if it comes to war, then our lightsabers will be at the ready,” Master Anya added. And Clarke wondered, not for the first time when dealing with her new Master, if Anya didn’t secretly prefer the fires of war to the calm waters of peace. 

“I pray it doesn’t come to that,” Chancellor Jaha stared at Clarke intently. “Although you were too young to remember it. Arkadia is your home too, Clarke.”

“No offense, Chancellor, but the Jedi Temple is my home.” Clarke said matter-of-factly. Master Lincoln shot her a disapproving look. He clearly thought she was being unnecessarily rude. And in truth, she hadn't meant it to come off as abrasive as it had but there was something about the chancellor that unnerved her. Of course she was too young to remember Arkadia III as her home, well actually the space station that had orbited Arkadia III had been the source of her origin. She'd been born only a few short months before the space station started to fail and prompted her people to return to the irradiated ground. From what she'd read about the planet's history, it was that return to the ground that had prompted Coruscant to intervene in the local politics. War had been brutal and instant with the Sky People at war with the Mountain, who were at war with the Woods Clan, who were at war with the Ice Nation. The Jedi were sent to quell the unrest and discovered tons of Force sensitives in the frontier planet. A truce had been reached, the Sky People got the better end of the negotiations which was still a point of soreness among members of the other clans. Clarke had no personal memories of either the space station or the ground. Her earliest memories were as a Jedi apprentice.

“Of course. Well, I hope that you all are finding your quarters satisfactory,” Jaha addressed the comment to all three of them then stood. “If you require anything, let my assistants know.”

The Jedi Masters rose and Clarke followed suit. “Thank you, Chancellor,” Lincoln called as Jaha walked toward the door.

Before he reached the hallway, Anya added, “You’re right to place your faith in Clarke, Chancellor. She won’t let you or our people down.”

Jaha’s lips inched up in a half-smile. “I hope so, Anya kom Trikru. I hope so.”

Anya kom Trikru, Clarke hadn’t heard her Master’s place name invoked in a long time. And she noticed that Anya had winced at hearing it. Clarke knew it wasn’t because her Master was ashamed of her origins or her people but that the name was a painful reminder of something else. Or rather someone else. Someone that Anya had believed that she had failed. Clarke could see the pain of loss and the despair of disappointment on Anya’s face before her Master turned away from them and walked across the plush blue carpet to the other side of the room and looked out of the viewing portal. 

Master Lincoln decided it was better to leave Master and Apprentice alone and excused himself, following Jaha down the hallway. Clarke closed the door to give them an extra layer of privacy. She joined Anya at the viewing portal but knew that in hyperspace there was nothing to see. “You okay?” Clarke placed a soothing hand on Anya’s shoulder blade.

“Yes, Griffin,” And Clarke could tell it was a lie but she didn’t call her Master out on it.

“You can’t blame yourself. . .”

“Don’t think to school me, Apprentice.” Anya’s nostrils flared and her already narrow eyes thinned to slits.

“Apologies, Master.” 

“Go to your quarters.” Clarke worked to hide the pain of rejection. She worried that Anya would never feel for her the way she had her first apprentice, Lexa, who had reverted to her birth name Leksa kom Trikru when she’d left the Jedi Order. Clarke reminded herself that she’d only been Anya’s apprentice for a few short months and that Anya had practically raised Lexa from a small child until one day Anya went to Lexa’s room in the Jedi Temple to find a note of resignation. The only thing the former apprentice had taken was her lightsaber and the clothes on her back. Anya had been devastated. So devastated that she’d sworn off ever taking another apprentice, It took Master Yoda four years to convince Anya to reconsider and then he’d introduced Anya to Clarke. 

“I said go to your quarters,” Anya repeated but more forcefully.

“Yes, Master. “Should I wait up for you?”

Anya’s posture changed noticeably. Her shoulders relaxed and Clarke could see the reflection of her face in the view portal as it softened. “No, Clarke. You should rest. We arrive in the Arkadia System in less than eight hours. You’ll need all of your energy when we get there.”

“Of course, Master,” Clarke looked to the floor still feeling as if she’d somehow disappointed her Master. Like she’d never be the apprentice that she wanted.”

Anya breathed deeply as she turned to face Clarke. She shook her head as she walked to the apprentice. She took a strand of Clarke’s long blonde hair between her two fingers and whispered. “It’s not a rejection of you, Griffin. I’m glad you’re my apprentice. I only wish I hadn’t failed. . .”

“But you didn’t. If anything, it was she who failed you.”

“Don’t interrupt, Griffin. And go to your quarters. I don’t want to have to tell you again.”

Clarke nodded and bowed before walking away. 

 

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Arkadia III, glowed like a blue and white marble in the viewport as the Chancellor’s yacht dropped out of hyperspace. Clarke found it beautiful but couldn’t find the nostalgic feeling for it that Chancellor Jaha clearly expected her to have. Yes, it was her home planet but what had she ever known of it? It was likely that her parents lived on one of the seven continents that made up the landmass of the predominantly water world, if they still lived at all. Clarke couldn’t even remember their faces. Her first distinct memories were of playing with the other younglings in her nursery group on the rooftop parks on Coruscant, and beginning saber training with her little wooden blade. 

“You should meditate, Griffin. We just received our docking orders and will be leaving orbit in thirty minutes.” Anya called as she looked over Clarke’s shoulder at the planet below. “It will be good to be home.”

“How much of it do you remember?”

“Enough. I was eleven when the Jedi found me. Some say that’s too old to begin training but I proved them wrong. Now go meditate. We meet with the Assembly of the Thirteen Nations as soon as we arrive.”

“Thirteen?” Clarke asked. “But I thought Azgeda had pulled out of talks.”

“Queen Nia pulled out of talks it’s true, but her son, and potential successor, is willing to speak at the assembly.”

“Will Azgeda accept a treaty negotiated by him?”

“Well now, that’s where you come in, isn’t it?” Anya raised an eyebrow sharply. “Now meditate.”  
Clarke didn’t bother to argue. She lowered herself to the floor, crossed her legs and opened herself to the Force. 

Clarke had been cold ever since she had boarded the Chancellor’s yacht but even the icy coldness of the ship had not prepared her for the shock of winter that speared her soul when she sunk into the Force. No, it wasn’t a coldness as much as it was a vast emptiness, a void, an absence of light, of love. And it was coming from, of all places, another human being. Clarke probed deeper into the Force, searching out the person whose soul emitted such nothingness. But as she got closer to the source, the nothingness gave way to fear, anger, and hatred. The cocktail of the Dark Side. The Sith. The Sith were here. And if they were involved, negotiations would be anything but simple. Clarke could feel her concentration slipping. She had to warn her Master. They could be walking into a trap. But she needed to find the source. She could see a swirling black mass. And then streaks of black. Streaks of black and jade green orbs. Then she lost it. The image was gone but the warning was clear. There would be no peace if the Sith were involved. 

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

The Nightbleeder sat down on landing platform number 4 in the Polis Spaceport. As soon as Leksa kom Trikru shut off power to its twin ion engines, she felt a familiar ripple in the Force. An unmistakable presence. Anya. So, it was her old Master that the Jedi had chosen to send to Arkadia III. Odd, Leksa thought, peacemaking had never been Anya’s strong suit. She’d always been a knight of action rather than mediation. She wondered what had changed her former mentor. She reached out with her feelings through the Force. A sharp jolt of light pierced the black veil that shrouded her spirit. Warmth spread across her being. She nearly allowed herself to bask in it but then remembered Master Titus’ teachings. Love is Weakness. Light is a Lie. Power is in the Dark Side. The pain of emptiness returned and Leksa’s lips curled because she knew she’d won that little battle. And soon, the universe would be at her mercy.


	3. Siren's Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke, Anya, and Lincoln prepare for the Assembly meeting and Lexa works to carry out her Dark Lord's plan.

The Peace Within III

Arkadia III was the only naturally habitable planet in the eight planet system that was situated on the outskirts of one of the galaxy’s spiral arms. It had only recently come under the Republic’s control. The Jedi had been surprised to find so many Force sensitives in the system and had spent the past fifteen years mining the system for its young talent. Masters Sinclair Mech Inik and Indra Tondici were among the first Force sensitives brought into the Jedi fold. There were those among the Jedi Council who were concerned that their attachment to their homeland was dangerous. Those detractors had gone so far as to encourage the Jedi to stop bringing in new initiates from the system. As her boots hit the ground, Anya understood their concerns. This ground would always have a special place in her heart. 

Anya closed her eyes and took a deep cleansing breath of the humid air. It was early summer in Arkadia III’s northern hemisphere and the ground still smelled rich and damp from the spring rains. A current of electricity running up her spine interrupted her homecoming. Her eyes snapped open and started scanning the bustling spaceport. Lexa was on planet, Anya was certain of it. The realization devastated her. It confirmed her worst fears. 

When Clarke had come to her before the chancellor’s yacht landed in Arkadia III and told her that the Sith were already there, Anya mentally prepared herself for inevitable conflict. Feeling Lexa’s presence sent a fresh wave of pain searing through her veins. She now knew beyond doubt that her former apprentice hadn’t just left the Jedi, she’d gone fully over to the Dark Side. She had become Sith. Her former student was now her mortal enemy and it grieved her to know that it would likely be her who’d have to put a blade through Lexa’s heart. 

“I feel the darkness, too,” Lincoln whispered to Anya as he urged her toward the spaceport exit with his hand at the small of her back. “We have to get to the assembly meeting.”

Anya didn’t tell him it was Lexa. She guessed that he knew anyway. “Right. Clarke?”

“The Chancellor asked her to accompany him to his office. I granted permission. I hope you’re okay with that.”

“Of course. She can handle herself,” Anya answered and only felt mildly guilty that her concerns lay more with her old apprentice than with her new one. 

Anya took one last look around the spaceport before she let Lincoln guide her through the exit. 

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Leksa gloried in the feeling of her old Master’s pain and guilt. She could feel Anya’s regret rolling across the city and through the trees, right up to the mountain where she now stood. She fed on it. It strengthened her. Her contact was late. She’d make him pay for making her wait but that would come well after he’d carried out her Dark Lord’s wishes. She’d make them all pay, all of the Mountain Men and all of the Sky People. For years, the truth had been kept from Leksa kom Trikru. She’d been raised as a Jedi Apprentice, taught to trust in their lies. When the Truth had been revealed to her, she’d felt cheated. The seed of hatred for the Jedi and their Council had been sown deep within her belly. It became unbearable to even look into her own Master’s eyes. She’d had no choice but to leave. Luckily, she’d had Master Titus to guide her and to continue her Force training. It was he who'd shown her the true power of the Force. At his side, she knew, that she would be vindicated. She would be given her due and more. The first to fall would be the Sky People who had no right to Arkadia III, they’d fallen from their failed space station and claimed the planet for themselves. Leksa couldn’t wait to watch them and all those who’d colluded with them burn. She wouldn’t rest until every last Sky Person was dead. 

A rustling of leaves caught Leksa attention. Her contact had arrived. He emerged from the trees wearing a camouflage suit, his name patch read, Emerson.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

The Chancellor had invited Clarke to his offices in the top of the tower that rose high in the capitol's city center. Before the war, the Woods Clan had controlled the city that they called Polis. The tower had been the seat of government. The building still showed signs of the nuclear fallout that the planet had faced a century before. But, the current administration had worked hard to restore the city to its pre-apocalyptic glory. Electricity thrummed through the walls, running water had been restored, and all new modern interior furnishings made the government offices feel like any of the various bureaucratic buildings on Coruscant. Clarke had received a crash course in the planet’s history and knew that much of the unrest stemmed from the fact that the tribes that made up the Grounder clans resented the fact that the SkyCrashers, those who’d formerly lived in a space station colony, had risen to power. As she looked down at the busy marketplace below, Clarke was glad that the Grounders did not know of her SkyCrasher, or Skaikru as the Grounders called them, origins. She didn’t think they would be as willing to hear her out if they knew her history, even if she personally had no emotional ties to the Sky People. 

The door to the chancellor’s office creaked open and Chancellor Jaha entered along with two other people, a man and a woman. Something about the way the woman looked at Clarke unsettled her. There was an intensity to her stare that sent shivers up Clarke’s spine. The man stepped forward and held his hand out not waiting for Jaha to make introductions. 

“Hello Clarke, I’m Jake, I’m an engineer here in Polis. This is my wife, Abby. She’s a doctor. We are members of the Council.”

Clarke wasn't sure that it was appropriate for her to be meeting with members of the Council before the general assembly meeting. What was Jaha up to?

“Clar - Clarke,” Abby’s voice caught in her throat but then she managed to rein in her emotion. “We wanted to wish you the best of luck in today’s talks.”

“Luck is irrelevant. The Force will guide the negotiations,” Clarke answered. She wasn’t sure why these people were having such a grating effect on her nerves but she knew she needed to get a control over it. “Forgive me. What I meant to say is the the Force is a strong ally. I’m sure we will be able to move the talks forward and peace will be achieved. I know your planet could use a golden age of peace.”

“That it certainly could,” Jake smiled and Clarke could tell he was resisting the urge to reach out and touch her. She looked from him to Abby, back to Jake, and then to Jaha. She didn’t care for the satisfied gleam in Jaha’s eyes. It was as if there were two different conversations happening in the room. One she was privy to and the other she was only on the fringes of. She knew she could probe their minds with the Force but Anya had taught her that that path often led to the Dark Side and so she resisted. Instead she looked back to the couple. Then she saw it. Saw it in the man’s chin, in his eyes. Saw it in the woman’s posture and bearing. These were her parents. They weren’t just some council members that Jaha wanted to introduce her to. These were her breeders. 

Anger ripped through Clarke. How dare Jaha! What had he hoped to accomplish by bringing her parents to meet her? Did he think that she would develop an allegiance to them that would sway her to favor Skaikru in the peace negotiations? “I’m sorry, you’ll have to excuse me,” Clarke hurried out of the room.

She didn’t wait for the elevator attendant. She punched the L button for the lobby. She fumed the whole ride down. How dare a chancellor try to manipulate the Force. No, not the Force but a Jedi. No, not a Jedi. An apprentice. He wouldn’t have pulled such a stunt with one of the Masters, she was sure of it. 

The elevator chimed and Clarke pushed out of the opening doors not even aware of the people waiting to board. She had to get away from there. She had to center herself. But she knew she didn’t have long. The assembly was set to start soon and the Masters would be expecting her. Clarke ran through the marketplace not sure of where she was going. She let the Force be her guide. She found herself in a back alley. There was a dark corridor that beckoned her. She followed it and found a hidden doorway. 

“Open it,” she heard a deep voice call to her and she knew it was coming from across the galaxy. She knew it was not a voice of Light but still the allure of the unknown propelled her onward. 

The room was pitch except for sparse light that filtered in from the darkened alley. Clarke looked to make sure no one was following her and she pulled the door shut behind her. Complete blackness overtook her. She reached for her belt and unclipped her lightsaber. Suddenly, the room was bathed in a blue glow. Still, she had to be careful of her footing and could only see a meter in front of her. She moved forward until she saw a large module of some kind. It was scoured in a way that indicated that it had had a hard time reentering Arkadia III’s atmosphere. Clarke understood immediately that the module had belonged to a Sky Person. But it was only large enough for one or two people. This couldn’t have been how Skaikru had returned to the planet. Clarke reached out her hand and wiped the dust off the module. The word Polis stared back at her. 

Clarke pulled the hatch to the module open. She wasn’t sure what urged her but it was a force she was powerless to resist. Something inside the vessel called to her. Something alive. 

“Clarke,” her communicator blared causing her to jump out of her skin.

“Yes, Master?” Clarke knew better than to ignore Anya’s call.

“The meeting starts in ten minutes, Where are you? I thought you were with Jaha?”

“I’ll be right there.” 

“You’d better be,” came Anya’s agitated response. Clarke knew that her Master didn’t like it when she went off unannounced. It reminded her of the last time she’d lost a pupil. 

The com went silent and Clarke turned to leave but she couldn’t make her feet move. There was something in here. Something she was meant to see. No, not see. Retrieve. Yes. That was it. And suddenly, she knew where to look. Clarke lifted the bench seat of the module. Sitting in the center of the hidden compartment below was a small metal tin with a skull face. It sang to her soul like a Siren’s call. Clarke snatched up the tin and pocketed it away. Hastily, she made for the alleyway. If she hurried maybe she wouldn’t be late for the assembly. 

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Lord Titus could not believe that a Jedi was turning out to be his greatest ally. He sat deep in meditation on Alamania but his mind walked on Arkadia III, walked alongside the young apprentice who’d discovered the Flame. Now, he only had to get the Flame in his own hands. But that shouldn’t be too difficult. After all, his apprentice was within only a few kilometers of where the artifact sat in the pocket of the little blonde apprentice.


	4. The Flame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke attends the Council Meeting, Lexa looks for the Flame.

Clarke skated into the assembly hall with only a minute to spare. She could feel her master’s exasperated dark eyes boring into her and Clarke made her way to Anya quickly. Master Lincoln nodded his shaved head at Clarke and his thick lips curled mirthfully at Anya’s impatience with her apprentice. 

“I told you she’d make it,” Lincoln whispered.

“Shof op, Lincoln,” Anya glared at him as if to say don’t encourage her. She often reverted to her native tongue, Trigedasleng when she was frustrated.

“I’m sorry, Master,” Clarke hoped the apology might help cut the tension. Either it did or Clarke’s calming nature was working on the woman because her breathing evened and her shoulders relaxed. 

“Don’t go off like that unannounced again,” Anya warned.

Clarke was going to say that she wouldn’t but her reply was cut off by Chancellor Jaha standing from the wooden throne chair that was elevated above the rest of the assembly. Once the chancellor had started his opening remarks, Clarke thought it would be impolite to continue talking. 

As Jaha droned on about the history of the Skypeople’s journey to the Earth and the merger of their people into the coalition, Clarke could feel someone staring at her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She surveyed the room. It was the woman from earlier, Her breeder. Her mother. What had the man said her name was? Clarke locked onto the chocolate brown eyes. Abby. That’s right, and he was Jake, Clarke looked from the woman’s dark eyes to the light eyes of the man who’d created her. There was a gentleness about the ruggedly masculine man that intrigued Clarke. She knew it must’ve been him from whom she’d received her disposition and Force gift of peacemaking. No, she reminded herself. Her gift was of the Force itself and had nothing to do with the mere mortals that stood across the room from her. Jake granted Clarke a full smile and all Clarke could do was look away stoically. Something about the man unnerved her. Why was she so drawn to him? 

Clarke only realized that she was fidgeting when she felt her master’s hand close over her own to still her fingers. 

“Find your center, Griffin,” Anya had noticed that the more agitated Clarke was the more restless the room became. The head of the Mountain Men kept checking his watch and his hand hovered over his protective suit which occupied the chair next to him. The exiled Prince Roan of Azgeda rubbed the hilt of his sword anticipatorily. Marcus Kane, advisor to Chancellor Jaha scanned the crowd with cautious eyes as if he fully expected the meeting to erupt in riot at any second. 

Clarke tore her eyes away from the couple and took deep centering breaths. As she calmed, the energy of the room slowly settled. 

“I want to extend my warmest welcome the Jedi who have come to witness our eventual treaty and serve as neutral advisors.” Jaha pointed to where the three Jedi sat.

“Neutral?” One of the Mountain Men stood. His lips sneered in derision. Clarke took an instant dislike to him. “All three of them are born of this system. How can they be neutral? Especially when two of them are Trikru and the other Skaikru?” So the locals were aware of her origins, after all. Oh well, Clarke decided that that was probably for the best anyway. That way they couldn't complain later that she'd showed favoritism. That would only likely cause another war down the road. Better to be upfront so that all grievances could be aired before the treaty was signed. 

“The Council recognizes Cage Wallace of the Mountain Men.” Marcus Kane stated formally.

“I’m sorry if I misspoke Kane but the question still stands. How can you expect us to trust that they will not advise what is only in the best interests of their own people?”

“If I may?” Clarke stood. 

“The Council recognizes Jedi Apprentice Clarke Wanheda Griffin formerly Clarke kom Skaikru.” Kane announced.

Clarke winced at the usage of her place name. No one had ever called her that, at least no one that she could remember. “Apprentice Griffin will do, thank you.” Clarke said curtly. 

She turned to Cage Wallace and to the leader of the Mountain Men, his father, Dante Wallace. “Gentlemen. I have no memories of my life here. My ally is the Force. My responsibility is to the Republic. You can trust that I will only advise what will serve the Republic as a whole. I am confident that we can find a solution that will serve the needs of all parties involved. I’ve read your planet’s history. I know you have a long-standing feud with Trikru, as does Azgeda. But war is not the answer. Killing is not the answer. Clarke turned to the Trikru delegation, “Jus drein, jus daun is not the answer. Masters Anya and Lincoln may have been raised in Trikru traditions but they have become one with the Force and know that we are all connected through the Force, what hurts one of us hurts us all. Peace is never easy. The fact that it is hard makes it the more noble endeavor.”

When Clarke finished speaking she could see Abby and Jake beaming with pride. She wasn’t sure why her stomach jumped at their smiles. 

“You talk a good game. . .” Cage started to retort but Dante’s hand on his forearm stalled him. 

Dante stood, his strength was beginning to wilt. “I look forward to working with you Apprentice Griffin. As for now, I’ve allowed myself all the exposure I can safely endure without more treatments. I am afraid I will have to return for talks tomorrow.”

“Of course, President Wallace. And I assure you. We will find a way for your people to get the treatments they need.”

Clarke’s comment caused grumbling from both the Trikru delegation and a group of Skaikru folks who sat near the back of the assembly room. 

“It won’t be Azgeda jus, you can count on that,” Prince Roan called.

At the discontent, Dante smiled and nodded at Clarke. He clearly didn’t have as much confidence in Grounders or Sky People willingly giving up their bone marrow as Clarke seemed to. “Good day.” He called as he and Cage slipped into their protective suits. 

With the delegation from the Mountain gone, Clarke wondered how they would be able to continue any negotiations. It didn’t seem right to bargain without the participation of all the parties involved. But no one else made to leave. Instead Marcus Kane opened up the floor to general questions. 

A large dark haired man stood up. He was thick and solid, and had several tattoos on his face.  
Clarke guessed him to be a warrior, he just had the look of someone who could kill you without batting an eye. 

“The Council recognizes Nyko kom Trikru,” Marcus extended his hand toward the imposing Grounder. 

Clarke was surprised to find not only was Nyko of a more gentle nature than she had suspected, he was also a noted healer. He directed his request at Jaha rather than at the council at large. Trikru traditions were more monarchical than democratic. “Chancellor Jaha, you promised that me and my young learners will receive medical training from Skaikru doctors. Yet, you have yet to follow through with those promises.”

Jaha leaned forward in his throne. “Nyko, we haven’t been able to grant those requests because your hunters have failed to hold up their end of the bargain.”

Another Trikru man jumped from his seat. “That’s because there is no meat to speak of. The woods have been over hunted. We’ve gone as far afield as we dare go. A full ten miles out. If we go any farther. . . “

Prince Roan stood, “You’ll be poaching on Azgeda lands and not a wise decision to make. If you steal from my mother’s lands, she’ll turn you into the meat.”

“Prince Roan please wait to be acknowledged next time, that goes for you too, Semet.” Jaha warned.  
Roan huffed but took his seat. His eyes locked with Clarke’s and she wasn’t sure if he was sneering at her or just curious about her. She broke the stare because she felt a thrumming in her pocket. It was coming from the metal box she had pocketed. It wanted something. It wanted someone. Someone nearby. Clarke scanned the faces in the room but none of them felt right. Using the Force she probed deeper. She couldn’t see a face but had the sense that the person was in the city center. Clarke needed to excuse herself but knew that the Masters would be furious with her if she did. 

She turned her attention back to Nyko and tried to ignore the metal box heating up against her thigh. “When can we expect to begin medical training?”

“As I said,” Jaha breathed in exasperation. “When your hunters supply us with the meat they promised.”

Nyko looked at Semet in frustration. They both knew that wasn’t likely to happen anytime soon.

Abby stood up. 

“The Council recognizes Dr. Abby Griffin,” Kane looked at Abby with what Clarke thought was longing. Clarke eyed her mother sharply. She didn’t think the adoration went both ways. 

“Thank you, Marcus,” Abby offered him a kind smile and there was something about the way her mother’s eyes lingered on Kane’s lips that made her second guess her initial assessment of the pair. “Chancellor Jaha, if you will permit me, I’d be happy to have Nyko and his students in Med Bay with me as early as tomorrow.”

Jaha started to speak but Abby kept going, “I realize that there were stipulations made but may I remind you that it benefits all of us to have more healers. We are already over taxed at Medical with not only Skaikru injuries and illnesses but Trikru as well. The more hands we have the more efficient we can be. If perhaps, we could accept other foodstuffs in place of meat or maybe even blankets or pottery. We could certainly use more planters.”

“Very well,” Jaha conceded. “If it suits you Nyko, you may report to Abby first thing in the morning.”

“Mochof Chancellor,” Nyko bowed then looked at Abby and said more softly, “Mochof.”

Abby nodded and smiled. 

Clarke had also been impressed with Abby’s reasoning and suggestions. Clarke nodded at the woman approvingly and Abby’s lips curled up but there was no smile in her eyes. She’d clearly expected more of Clarke than Clarke was willing to give her and it seemed that she had finally resigned herself to that fact that Clarke would never see her as a true mother.  
“Would anyone else like to address the Council?” Kane asked as the room settled back down. A muscular black Skaikru man stood from the back of the room. Clarke could feel that something about the man made Master Lincoln uncharacteristically restless. Clarke wondered who the man was but just before he was announced, the box in her pocket sent a jolt down her leg. She jerked involuntarily as pain seared down her femur and burst across her knee cap.

Anya turned toward her. At first Clarke thought her master realized that she was in intense pain but that hadn’t been it at all. Anya looked right through Clarke. It was eerie, she was looking directly into her eyes but she didn’t see her at all. “Let’s go, Griffin.”

“But. . .” Clarke was going to protest that they were in the middle of an assembly and that she was in nearly crippling pain.”

“Now,” Anya’s hand wrapped hard around Clarke’s wrist. It clearly wasn’t up for debate. 

Master Lincoln moved to stand but Anya placed a hand on his shoulder. “Lexa is my problem. There needs to be a Jedi here. Stay. I’m taking Clarke.”

Lincoln pursed his lips disapprovingly but finally nodded his agreement. “Take care. And, may the Force be with you.”

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

After her meeting with her contact from the Mountain Men, Leksa kom Trikru had made her way to Polis. Master Titus had been clear. She was to set his plans into motion and retrieve the package. The Flame. It was said to be housed somewhere in the old city center. Lord Titus had given her six possible locations, the first three had turned up nothing. He’d told her that the Force would guide her but so far the Force had failed her. No, the Force hadn’t failed her, she reminded herself. She had failed the Darkside. She’d allowed her thoughts to stray too often to her old Master who she knew to be here in Polis. She could sense her. If she opened herself to the Force she could almost see her. Conflict swelled in her again as she envisioned the sharp contours of Anya’s face. Hatred warred with affection. 

As if Lord Titus could feel her betrayal, her communicator dinged. Leksa stepped into a darkened side street and thumbed the talk button. “Yes, Master?”

“Change of plans, Leksa. The item we seek has already been found. A young Jedi Apprentice holds it but it knows who its true master is. It seeks you. Go to the temple location I put on the list. The Flame hasn’t failed us. It will come to you. And with it, we will rule the galaxy”

“Yes, Master,” Leksa waited for further instruction but the comm went dead. She dropped it back into her pocket and then pulled out the map of Polis. Anger pelted her heart at the fact that she needed a map to navigate what should have been her city. It had all been stolen from her and Anya had known. The lingering affection that she’d felt for Anya was overtaken by hatred. And she might have her revenge yet if what Lord Titus said was true. A Jedi apprentice had the Flame. It was likely that it was Anya’s new pupil If the Flame was searching for Leksa then she was bound to come face to face with the apprentice and Anya would probably be with her. Yes, Leksa would have her revenge and the galaxy would be less two Jedi. Leksa could almost taste her victory as she found the location of the temple on the Polis map.


	5. Thief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke struggles with the effects of the Flame and Anya and Lexa face off.

Warning: Character Death.

Clarke struggled to keep up with Master Anya as the determined older Jedi moved swiftly through the Polis marketplace. The pain in her leg hadn’t let up and she was running with a limp as her right calf muscle had buckled under the torment. Clarke considered tossing the metal tin. She knew that it was what was causing the intense torture. But the need to understand the technology outweighed her personal comfort. Still, she thought she should at least tell her master what was happening. She tried to run faster to catch up with Anya but her left leg seized up too and she stumbled face forward in the dirt. 

“Master Anya,” she yelled but her effort was wasted in the din of the market crowd. She raised her head looking in the direction her master had run but she couldn’t see the wavy strands of her long hair. 

“Clarke, are you alright?” Jake Griffin hurried to Clarke’s side and went down on his knees to help her up.

Instinctively, Clarke jerked away. “Shouldn’t you be at the assembly?”

“It worried me the way you and Master Anya bolted out of there. I got the sense that something was wrong.”

“It’s Jedi business and it doesn’t concern you,” Clarke snapped. “Nor do I concern you.” 

Clarke’s words pierced Jake’s heart. He knew he didn’t have any rights to her. He’d given up any claims to her affection when he’d turned her over to the Jedi. He’d told himself at the time that it was the right thing to do. It would have been wrong to stifle a force-sensitive child by denying her the opportunity to hone her inborn skills. “You’re right, Clarke. I gave up my responsibility to you as my daughter. But as one human to another, I can offer you the kindness of helping you out of the street.”

Clarke wasn’t sure if it was the pleading in his light eyes or the determination in his dimpled chin but she gave him her arm and let him help her off the ground. When she stood, her legs were still wobbly and she had to lean on Jake. “Thank you,” Clarke said out of obligation.

“What happened?” Jake asked.

Clarke wasn’t about to tell him about the metal box or its contents. Although she wondered if he would have some insight about the object. She almost reconsidered asking him but knew that she shouldn’t talk to anyone about it without clearing it with Master Anya.  
“I need to find my Master.”

“Where was she headed?” Jake looked around the marketplace hoping to catch a glimpse of the Jedi Knight.

“This way,” Clarke moved forward and nearly fell again. She would’ve if Jake hadn’t grabbed her under the shoulders.

“You’re not going anywhere like that.” Jake scooped Clarke up into his arms like a child and proceeded in the direction that Clarke had attempted to go.

“What are you doing? Put me down!” Clarke demanded.

“Clarke? Clarke Griffin?” Finn Collins called across the marketplace. He was dropping off a crate at a vendor’s stall. The merchant handed Finn a handful of credits before Finn jogged over to where Jake was carrying Clarke. “This is new for you.”

“Shut up, Finn,” Clarke winced.

“Friend of yours?” Jake asked, eyeing the boy up and down.

“Not exactly. He’s a smuggler. We don’t associate.”

“Oh the high and mighty Jedi,” Finn shook his head. “Raven around?” Finn’s dark eyes looked in every direction. 

“No. And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll get lost too. I could have the local authorities check that crate.” Clarke nodded to the shipment Finn had just left with the vendor.

“Honest day’s work, Princess!” Finn smiled and bowed. “Well, you look like you have all the help you need. I’ll be off.”

“Wait. Finn. I need a favor.”

Finn stopped dead in his tracks. The Jedi never asked for favors, not from him. And if he’d taken odds on which one of them would have deigned to stoop so low, he’d never have put money on Miss High and Mighty. 

“Jake, put me down, please. I need to talk to Finn, alone.”

Jake looked at Clarke warily. He didn’t have much confidence in her ability to stand on her own. And he didn’t know if he could trust this smuggler boy with his incapacitated daughter. As if Clarke had caught the drift of his thinking she put a hand on Jake’s shoulder. “He’s a pirate and a thief. But he wouldn’t hurt me.”

Jake nodded and set her down. Clarke leaned against the wall of one of the storefronts. Jake walked away to give them a little privacy. Finn squinted his eye at Clarke. “Whatever it is that you want, I doubt you have the credits and the Jedi would never give you credits if they thought they were going to pay me.”

“How about a service in return?”

Finn looked at Clarke shocked. “You didn’t strike me as the type, Clarke.”

It only took Clarke a second to figure out what he thought she was suggesting. “Eww, gross, Finn. I’m not some. . . some. . .”

“Okay, okay, calm down. What did you have in mind then?”

“The next time you’re in Coruscant and wand some alone time with Raven, I’ll be your alibi or lookout.”

Finn considered the offer. It might be worth it depending on how big the favor. “Let me hear your favor first.”

“I need to hide something.”

“But if I tell you where to hide it, it won’t be hidden. And, I am a smuggler. What’s to say I won’t off with the merch?”

“Raven.”

Finn swallowed.

“If you pulled anything like that, I’d tell her what a double dealing, low down, son-of-a. . .”

“Okay, okay, I got it. So how big is the thing you want to hide?”

“Small.”

“Best place is on your person, Concealment and security.” Finn thought that was obvious.

“That’s problematic. It’s like it has some sort of radioactive effect.”

“Have you tried lead?”  


“Lead! Of course, Finn why didn’t I think of that? You’re a genius.” 

“Not really.” Finn grinned goofily at the complement. 

“I need a box made of lead.”

“Flecko’s. Two blocks away.”

“How much are talking?” Clarke asked.

“Depends on how big a box you need?”

Clarke pulled the tin from her pocket and was careful to only show it to Finn.

Finn involuntarily reached for the small box. Clarke jerked it back.

“Alright, I’ll get you a box. I’ll be right back.” 

Finn sprinted off down the street and Jake returned to Clarke’s side. “You feeling any better?”

“I will be shortly. Thank you for your kindness.” Clarke felt like she owed him an apology. She’d bitten his head off for no reason. He’d only been trying to help her and she saw it as him pushing his paternity on her. 

“You’re welcome. I get it, you know. It’s tough for you coming back here. People know who you are, They all have expectations of you. Even those who aren’t biologically related to you still look up to you, you are a symbol to them. Skaigirl become Jedi. Many envy you. It’s a lot to carry on such young shoulders.”

Clarke nodded. She didn’t understand why she was having the urge to hug the man but the thought kept running through her head that he would’ve made a fine father.

Finn was back much quicker than Clarke had expected. “Do you want to do this out here?” Finn looked around the open air market. 

“Let’s move into that alley.” Clarke jutted her chin toward the roadway. “I’ll be okay now, Jake. And thanks, again.”

“Any time,” Jake answered and reluctantly backed away. He wasn’t quite sure she was going to be fine but he’d invaded her privacy long enough.

In the darkened alley, Clarke handed the tin to Finn who secured it in the larger lead box. When he handed the leaden box to Clarke he asked, “Is this too heavy for you?”

Clarke tested the weight in her pocket. “No, it’s fine. How much do I owe you?”

“Just put in a good word with Raven. You okay now?” Finn could tell that she was standing more erectly.

“I am. Now, I have to find my master.”

“I won’t keep you, then.” And like a thief in the night, Finn skulked away down the darkened alley.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Clarke searched out her master using the Force. She was surprised when she turned down the alley where she had originally found the metal box and artifact. It couldn’t be a coincidence. Clarke could hear the clashing lightsabers before she opened the door that led into the odd sanctuary. Green and red danced over the walls as Anya and Lexa slapped blade against blade. Blue joined the fray as Clarke thumbed on her own lightsaber. 

“Stay out of this, Griffin,” Anya ordered. 

Clarke didn’t power down her lightsaber. In fact, she couldn’t move at all. She was captivated by Anya’s opponent. This had been the soul the box had sought. Clarke didn’t know why she knew but she knew.

Green eyes locked with blue. Lexa had been so taken by Clarke’s arrival that she’d nearly misstepped and left herself open to a lethal blow. But she recovered just in the knick of time, rolling out of the way. The problem was she’d put herself between Master and Apprentice, a dangerous place to be. 

Clarke watched as Lexa pivoted between the two of them. She knew she could make her strike but she also knew that Anya would be furious at her if she obeyed a direct order. 

Lexa sensed Clarke’s hesitation and took immediate advantage of it. She kicked Clarke’s wrist sending her blade crashing to the ground and sputtering into nothingness. She then directed another quick kick into Clarke’s solar plexus causing the blonde to double over. 

“Leave her alone. Your fight is with me.” Anya worked to get Lexa attention directed back at herself. 

Leksa reminded herself that this was the person who had the Flame. She did a quick Force scan of Clarke’s body for it. She didn’t find it but did sense a small patch of nothingness. Something was blocking her use of the Force. That had to be where the Flame was hidden. But first things first. Leksa reached deep into her anger, stoked the fires of hatred that burned inside her for everything the Anya had stolen from her. “You’re right, Anya. Ai gonplei ste kom yu.”

Lexa charged twirling her blade in deadly arcs, slashing but pirouetting like a graceful dance. As she brought her sword down for the killing blow across Anya’s midsection, Lexa cried, “Yu gonplei ste odon.”

“Noooooo,” Clarke screamed and ran headlong at Lexa. Lexa easily parried Clarke and planted her fist in her face. Clarke looked dazed for a second before she crashed to the floor unconscious.

Leksa reached straight into Clarke’s robes and pulled out the lead box and slipped it into her own robes. Her master was going to be so proud of her and soon she would be the person she was meant to be. 

Lexa brought her blade up in the air. Her intention was to sever the apprentice’s head. But she couldn’t bring the blade down. Even though the blonde lay unconscious with her eyes closed, Leksa could still see those blue eyes. Blue eyes that knew pain. Blue eyes that knew suffering. They were alike. Castaways. Unwanted, Unloved. The Jedi had only offered them cold comfort. Yet there was a warmth in those blue eyes that Leksa had lost. Leksa knew it was weakness but she couldn’t extinguish those blue flames. She had to see them again. Her soul demanded it. 

Leksa patted the box in her robes and gave Clarke’s unconscious form one last look before she ran out of the sanctuary and headed for the spaceport and the Nightbleeder. With any luck, she’d be back on Alamania with her Master when all hell broke loose on Arkadia III.


	6. Disobedience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa tries to make her escape and Clarke comes to a realization. Lexa disobeys Titus, Clarke takes matters into her own hands.

Clarke’s ears rang when consciousness found her again. She heard muffled voices and slowly opened her eyes. Brown leather boots stood in front of Anya. Her Master! She had to help her Master. Clarke struggled to rise. She’d taken a punch before and was surprised that Lexa’s punch had been so powerful that it knocked her down and out. It had to have been a Force punch. And if that were the case then Lexa’s powers were stronger than any Jedi Apprentice that Clarke knew of. 

As Clarke became more aware of her surroundings, she realized that the boots belonged to Master Lincoln and it was his muffled voice she’d heard. He was talking to Chancellor Jaha and Abby Griffin was there as well. She was on the other side of Anya, bent over her checking the wound. But in her heart, Clarke knew it was too late. She felt her Master’s soul leave the body through the Force. And she’d done nothing. Anya had ordered her to stay out of it. But together they could have taken Lexa. Why Anya? 

Clarke attempted to stand but fell backwards on her rump. “Ow,” she grumbled.

Abby hurried over to her. “Stay Still, Clarke. Let me look at that.”

Lexa’s Force punch had landed on the highest part of Clarke’s cheekbone, near her temple. There was already a reddish purple bruise coming to the surface. “Did you see your attacker?” Abby inquired.

Clarke just looked up at Master Lincoln silently. 

“This is an affair for the Jedi to handle, Dr. Griffin. I thank you for offering your medical services to the apprentice but I assure you the killer will be brought to justice.” Master Lincoln’s dark eyes looked from Abby back to Anya.

Abby nodded but Clarke could see that she had little faith in Jedi justice. 

“I’m fine,” Clarke tried to shake off Abby’s ministrations.

“You most certainly are not. You’ve taken a severe blow to the head. I would like you to come to medical so I can perform a brain scan.”

“There’s no time for that. We have to stop her before she leaves orbit. If she makes the jump to hyperspace, we may never catch her.” Clarke tried to stand again. 

“I’ve already put the spaceport on lock down. No one is leaving this planet until I give the go ahead,” Jaha assured. And for once, his cocky posture gave Clarke hope. 

“Clarke,” Lincoln’s voice dropped an octave and he went down on his haunches to really look at her face. “Let Abby check you out. I’m going to make sure Anya’s body gets the treatment she deserves. We will find her, I promise.”

Clarke hated the idea of going to medical and she knew that she could tell Master Lincoln no, after all he wasn’t her master and couldn’t really give her a direct order. But still, he was a Jedi Knight and she, only an apprentice. 

“Fine, I’ll go. But if you are planning on cremating Anya, I’d like to be there for the ceremony.”

“I’d never disclude you from that. She loved you. Was proud of you.” Master Lincoln touched Clarke’s shoulder softly. “But now, you need to go with Abby.”

Clarke hated the fact that Lexa was somewhere on planet and she couldn’t go after her. Avenge her master’s murder. Bile rose in her throat when she thought about the horrific pain she wanted to cause the vile Sith brunette. Clarke took a deep centering breath. Vengeance was of the Dark Side. She needed to move beyond it. But the loss was too fresh, too raw. 

“Can I say goodbye?” Clarke asked in a broken whisper.

“Of course,” Lincoln left a safety lantern behind but ushered Jaha and Abby out into the alleyway. 

Clarke could smell the seared flesh as she crawled over to Anya’s corpse. The lightsaber blade had cauterized the wound as it slashed through Anya’s center. Burned skin flaked into the gouge. Clarke covered her mouth but it didn’t stop the tears from falling hot over the back of her hand and down her forearm. The need for revenge rose inside her again. 

Clarke had appreciated Lincoln’s kind words but she knew the truth. Anya hadn’t loved her. Cared for her, maybe. But she hadn’t loved her. Not like she had her first apprentice. Not like Lexa. It was tragic that the one she loved the most was the one who had killed her. Still, Clarke had loved Anya and even though the sentiment hadn’t been returned, it didn’t make the loss any easier to bear. Clarke reached into her boot and pulled out the tiny knife she kept there. She cut one of her master’s long braids. “I’m sorry, Master. In trying to obey you, I failed you. Wherever you may go, may the Force be with you. May we meet again,” Clarke batted away tears and with only a little stumbling was able to stand upright. When she went to put Anya’s braid in her inner robe pocket she realized sickeningly that the box was gone. Lexa must have stolen it from her when she knocked her out. But why? And how had she known about the object? Clarke quickly checked her other personal effects. Her id cards, her comm device, her lightsaber, everything of value was still on her person. But she’d taken the box. The artifact must have been what brought Lexa to the shrine in the first place. She must’ve been looking for it. And Clarke had delivered it right to her! No, the object had been looking for her. Resolved. Clarke decided that she would let Abby do her brain scan but after that, she was going after Lexa. With or without Master Lincoln’s permission. 

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Leksa considered testing Arkadia III’s planetary shields. Her ship was fast and well armored. It was also small enough that it might be able to get enough speed to escape the shields. But if she failed she wouldn’t just be losing her ship and her life, the Flame would be destroyed too. And everything she’d done since leaving the Jedi temple had been because of the Flame. No, she was too close to victory to let impatience get the better of her. 

After she discovered that the planet was on lock down. Leksa decided it was best not to go back to the Nightbleeder. She didn’t want to draw any attention to herself or her ship. She didn’t need anyone thinking that she was in a hurry to get off planet. She figured she, or more specifically, Anya’s death was the reason for the lock down. So, she needed to lay low. Arkadia III couldn’t afford to keep their shields up indefinitely. Still, she knew she couldn’t be in the city center. Things were about to get ugly there, and fast.

Leksa found a clearing in the woods and set up camp to wait things out. She breathed in the woodsy aroma and regretted, not for the first time, that she’d been denied the opportunity to be reared in these woods. To train as a proper Trikru gona. As a potential Heda. She closed her eyes and searched through the Force through the other sentient life forms on planet. She wondered if she’d be able to locate other children like her, those born with special blood. Those born to rule. Her thoughts settled over a young red-headed boy. He was skinny, Too skinny to be a warrior but there was something in his spirit that said otherwise. Leksa focused all her energy on the child. Her strength in the Force was so strong she could actually place him geographically with pinpoint accuracy. He was in Polis, on the fourteenth floor of the tower. In a classroom filled with other children. They were learning from a Skaikru teacher. Leksa’s stomach turned at the thought of the black-bleeding child being subject to the teachings of the invaders. But more than that, guilt gnawed at her for what was about to happen to the child. She knew what Emerson had planned. In fact, it was her own Master who had struck the deal with Emerson. Soon, all of Polis would lay in ruins and the Skaipeople would get what they deserved. But the red-headed boy. He didn’t deserve that. And neither did the other Trikru children sitting alongside him. They were like her, innocent victims of galactic politics. 

Something else ate at Leksa too. When Emerson unleashed his missile, would it find among its victims the blue-eyed Jedi Apprentice? She was in Polis, or at least that’s where Leksa had left her. Right in the line of fire. If the girl’s fate was to be death then why hadn’t Leksa just ran a blade through her and been done with it? Her lungs felt like they were being squeezed by the Sarlaac. Her chest felt like a bantha was sitting on it. Why did it matter to her what happened to the girl? Leksa could see her now. Standing there obeying Anya even though her crystal eyes burned with defiance. She could also envision her laying there unconscious, her golden hair spilling over her pretty face. Something about the girl pulled at Leksa in places Leksa had forgotten existed. Leksa forced thoughts of the girl from her head and instead focused on memories of another girl, a murdered girl. That’s what happened when you cared! Costia. 

And even though those memories should have been enough. Even though her Master’s orders should have prevented her from doing so, Leksa packed up her camp and set off to find the spotter for the missile. She couldn’t let the missile take out Polis. She had time to save the boy. He didn’t deserve to die for the sins of the Skaipeople. She’d find another way to kill them. Kill them all, she promised herself. Blue eyes be damned. 

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Clarke sat on a medical cot waiting for Abby to tell her what she already knew. The scan came back normal but she was going to have that nasty bruise for days, maybe weeks with her light skin. 

After what felt like hours, Abby returned. “Everything looks fine. But I would like to admit you overnight for monitoring.”

“No, what? Look, I can’t just be laying around here. . .”

“Clarke, just calm down.” Abby put a hand on her knee.

“Don’t. Don’t tell me to calm down. You are not my mother.”

The rebuke hit Abby hard. She jerked her hand back and turned away from Clarke so that she didn’t see the tears that stung her eyes.”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. What I meant. . .”

“What you meant was that I gave up that right. And you’re right, I did. But I still love you. And I am always going to look out for you, worry after you, ask about you. It would give me peace of mind if you stayed overnight.”

“I can’t do that. We’ve got to have a service for Anya and we need to start looking for her killer.”

“Of course, you’re right,” Abby conceded. “But, I want you to promise me. If you have even the slightest headache, numbness, or light sensitivity, you will come back and let me have another look at you.”

Reluctantly, Clarke nodded.

“All right then, off with you. You’re free to go.”

Clarke was happy to get out of the flimsy hospital gown and into her own tunic, leggings, and robe. She clipped her lightsaber onto her belt, slipped on her boots, and headed out of the hospital to find Master Lincoln. She hadn’t taken three steps out into the city streets when the missile blazed overhead. It zipped past the tower and away from Polis but people screamed and rushed through the streets panicked. “Maunon, Maunon, Wor,” they cried.

Abby came rushing out of the hospital in time to see the missile strike the earth and scorch everything where it landed sending a massive cloud of dirt, dust, smoke, and debris high into the sky. “TonDC,” she grabbed her heart, “Jake and Marcus.”

“What about them?” Clarke asked remembering Jake’s earlier kindness toward her and Marcus’ shrewd handling of the assembly 

“They left in trucks headed for TonDC just before you came by the hospital. They should be there by now. I’ve gotta go.” Abby ran back into the hospital to grab a medical bag. 

Clarke knew that she should offer to go with her to TonDC. There were people there who could likely use her help. But there was something more important she needed to do. She couldn’t explain it but somehow she felt everything, the conflict in Arkadia III, her Master’s murder, the bombing of TonDC, had to do with the artifact. The artifact and Lexa. She had to find the Sith Apprentice, that was the key to everything.

Clarke probed the Force searching for any hint to Lexa’s whereabouts. She found her more easily that she would’ve thought possible. Clarke looked toward the highlands just outside the city. It was a good day for a hike.


	7. Swindled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Lexa face off.

Swindled

The climb had been steeper than Clarke had been expecting and she was grateful that she had remembered to refill her water canteen before she left the city. She must have gained 400 meters already. She turned and looked back at the city below. It was a flurry of activity with people hurrying about, no doubt preparing for war. The plume of smoke from where the missile hit still rose in the distant wilderness. Clarke hoped that Abby had been wrong and that the missile had not struck the Grounder village. Still, Clarke knew that even if the bomb had landed a hundred kilometers away it would still be seen as a provocation of war on the part of the Mountain Men. The Grounders would demand war and Skaikru would either have to defend the Grounders or lose their support altogether. 

Clarke’s comm crackled from where she wore it on the inside of her robe. “Clarke, I need you to head back to Polis ASAP. I know you went with Abby to TonDC but I need you to get a truck and return immediately,” Master Lincoln’s voice piped through the speaker.

Clarke didn’t bother to correct him about her whereabouts. If he knew she was going after Lexa he would order her to stand down and that just wasn’t something she was prepared to do. Master Anya deserved justice and Clarke needed to learn more about the box and the artifact that it contained. Plus, she was sure that Lexa was behind the missile. Getting to Lexa was the surest way to get the answers she sought. 

“Clarke? Are you there?” Worry danced from Master Lincoln’s tongue.

“Yes, Master Lincoln. I’m here. I’ll return as quickly as I can.”

“What news of TonDC?”

“Haven’t made it there yet.” It wasn’t exactly a lie she told herself.

“Abby’s assistant, Jackson, told me he saw you leave with her. I know you want to help there but Jaha has called an emergency council meeting. Masters Indra and Sinclair are headed in system with their apprentices. Luckily, they were headed to the Outer Rim and were nearby when I contacted the Jedi Council for back up. They should arrive on planet at 18:00 local time.”

Clarke glanced down at her wristwatch. Great she only had four hours to find and defeat Lexa and get back to Polis for Jaha’s emergency meeting. “I’ll head back to Polis right away, Master. I should make it in time for the Masters’ arrival. What time is the council meeting?”

“At 19:00 local.”

“I’ll make it in time.”

“I’m counting on you, Clarke. Your peace skills have never been needed more.”

“Yes Master.” Clarke felt guilty for lying to Master Lincoln. She hoped that he’d understand in time.

“And may the Force be with you, Apprentice.” 

“And with you, Master.” Clarke took a deep breath as her comm went silent. She fingered the off button on the side of the device. She didn’t want anymore interruptions until she was finished with Lexa. 

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

It didn’t take Leksa long to realize what she’d done. In causing the missile to bypass Polis, she’d murdered hundreds of innocent Trikru victims. She’d felt their cries through the Force. Her face burned with shame. She’d chosen to spare Polis because she’d seen the face of one boy. A boy who was nothing to her. Maybe he shared her black blood but beyond that he was just a Grounder child being indoctrinated by the lies of the Skai People. And, she’d just killed hundreds of Grounders for the sake of one. 

Her subconscious pricked at her. She hadn’t just saved the one boy. There had been a classroom of similar children. And there was the blonde Jedi. She’d been spared too. And Master Lincoln who’d always been so kind to her. 

Leksa remembered once when she was a youngling, Lincoln had been assigned to Levitation class. He was still an apprentice himself with his black hair short to his head and his long padawan braid falling over his shoulder. He had pulled her aside and explained to her that straining to the point that her cheeks turned purple from lack of oxygen was not the way to make the tiny marble rise from the floor. He showed her how to find stillness in the Force and that only through that stillness could she make the marble move. It had taken her three days which seemed like an eternity to a seven-year-old child, but finally at the end of the third day, the marble lifted off the ground and hovered in the air for a whole second before dropping back to the floor. 

It had also been Master Lincoln who’d pulled her aside after she”d scraped her knee. It was the first time the other apprentices had seen Leksa’s black blood. Some laughed at her, others looked at her in fear, and some even looked at her as if she was a freak. Master Anya had told them all to shof op and reminded them that there were plenty of species that didn’t bleed red. But everyone just murmured that humans did bleed red. Lincoln had pulled her aside and quelled her fears that she was some sort of bizarre alien. He explained to her that she had been born with a genetic anomaly that was sometimes found among people native to Arkadia III and that it didn’t make her a freak. He’d whispered to her, “It actually makes you very special, Leksa kom Trikru.” And Leksa had never forgotten the faraway look he got in his eyes as he’d said it. It was as if he was seeing a different world. A better world. But Leksa had never asked him about it.

Leksa pushed the warm thoughts of the Jedi master far from her mind. When his pleasant memory evaporated into the air and beyond the tops of the trees, pain and anger for what she had done returned. Leksa gloried in the feeling of regret and despair. These she could use. These she could channel into Dark Side energy. These would bring her power. Power of the pain. Power of the past. Power to forget what was lost and power to claim what was rightfully hers. 

Leksa reached into the pocket where she’d put the lead box that she stolen from the Jedi apprentice. She knew she should wait for her Master to open the Flame. As Fleimkepa it was his right. He was the one who knew the lore. Still, the urge to just look at it pulled at her core. She was surprised that she didn’t feel it. Her Master had told her that sometime it gave off a strong radiation. But all she felt was emptiness inside the box. It was as if there was Force void in the little container, like a black hole. 

Lexa opened the lead box to find a smaller metal container decorated with a skull which had a medallion emblazoned on its forehead. Tossing aside the lead box, she started to slide the lid of the metal container open but heard the familiar pop hiss of a lightsaber being ignited behind her. She’d been so wrapped up in her memories and her musings about the Flame that she’d let down her guard and the Jedi had found her. 

Leksa turned to face the Jedi head on. Her green eyes flared when she saw it was the apprentice. Leksa scanned the nearby woods with a shift of her eyes and a force probe. The girl was alone. This surprised Leksa. The blonde hadn’t struck her as the rogue type. But then she could see the need for revenge burning in the blue eyes and it made sense. 

The sun glinted off the metal box catching Clarke’s eye. On the ground, Clarke saw the outer lead casing that Finn had given her to protect her from the radiation. She wondered why she couldn’t feel the effects of it now. Did it have something to do with Lexa’s nearness to the object? Clarke remembered how the artifact weirdly sought out the Sith apprentice. “That belongs to me. You stole it.”

“I stole it?” Leksa considered telling the blonde the whole messy story of how her people were the thieves but Master Titus had warned her how self-righteous they all were. 

“Yes, you took it from me, After you gave me this,” Clarke pointed to the purple welt on her cheek that had only grown worse as the day had worn on. 

“I could’ve killed you.” Titus was right. This little Skaigirl wasn’t even grateful that Leksa had spared her miserable life.

“Why didn’t you?” It was an honest question and one that Leksa had not been expecting. 

“I didn’t want to waste my time.”

“What? All of the two seconds it would’ve taken you to run me through? I saw you with the blade. You made quick work of Master Anya.”  
The name spoken between them took on an energy of its own. Leksa looked at the ground but Clark noticed her throat bob up and down as she swallowed. What she had done to Anya had pained her. Clarke was surprised to see the guilt in the sag of the Sith’s shoulders. But then Leksa recovered quickly, straightening her spine and piercing Clarke with her verdant gaze. 

“You want this? You’ll have to kill me to take it.” Leksa shoved the box hastily into a pouch that hung at her belt. Then, with one swift move, she unclipped and ignited her lightsaber bringing it at the ready, daring Clarke to challenge her.

The girl was apparently stupid or had a death wish because she slashed her blue blade through the air a couple of times before inching toward Leksa. 

“You’re no match for me Griffin, I’m warning you.”

“Are you sure about that?” Clarke asked and closed her eyes. She’d been so lost in her anger that she had been acting brashly. She realized at once that the way to beat Lexa was not through force or agility. Lexa had skills beyond Clarke’s learning where those things were concerned. Clarke still had one tool she could call on, though. She powered down her saber and searched into her own being and found there the calm that was the mark of her Force gift. 

She knew standing unguarded with her eyes closed that she was making herself an easy target but she counted on her Force ability to temper the chaos that warred within Lexa. Clarke’s eyes fluttered open. Lexa looked at her curiously. Clarke couldn’t tell if her Force gift was working or if Lexa was just unwilling to attack her now that she was making herself an open target. When she saw the Sith’s clenched jaw relax, she was fairly certain that her Force gift was working. 

As Clarke looked at the brunette, it occurred to her for the first time that the woman was actually quite beautiful. Her green eyes looked fierce behind the thick kohl warpaint that she wore but her slender nose sat delicately on a feminine face that had the most perfect lips that Clarke had ever seen 

Clarke got distracted admiring Lexa’s beauty. She lost her grip in the Force and Lexa’s fire returned. Worse, she seemed to realize that Clarke had somehow manipulated her senses. She would have sworn she was too strong-minded for that. Hadn’t she just held the missile spotter under her power like a puppet on a string? How had this mere apprentice managed to control her?

Leksa knew she needed to kill the girl and be done with it. But the revelation that the blonde had some unique power intrigued her even more. Her hesitation allowed Clarke to regain her power over the Force and by extension, Lexa.

But Leksa was more prepared for it this time. She strained against control. But the harder she strained the more she slipped into the swirl of Clark’s peaceful energy. 

This time when Clarke had regained control, she reached out with her left hand and called the metal box to her using the Force. Leksa became aware the instant the box left her belt pouch and she reached with her right hand to snag it out of the air. But when she did, her finger only caught the edge of it, propelling it toward Clarke even faster.

The object came in quicker than Clarke had judged from the push Lexa had given in. It slammed into Clarke’s chest and popped off of her left breast and thudded to the ground. The box popped open. There was nothing inside except the indentation where the artifact was supposed to be.

“What?” Clarke cried. “What have you done with it?”

Leksa hurried over to grab the box from the ground. She searched the grass thinking that maybe it had popped out when it fell. But she knew it hadn’t. And Clarke hadn’t hidden it elsewhere. She was as genuinely surprised to find the box empty as Leksa had been. 

“Nothing. I thought it was in there. Help me look, maybe the Flame fell on the ground.”

“The Flame? Is that what it’s called?”

“Help me look.” Leksa ordered

“It didn’t fall out. I was looking right at it. It isn’t there.”

“It has to be,” Leksa’s voice became more frantic. “I’ve failed. Everything for nothing. Anya.” The name fell from her lips with what Clarke was now certain was regret. 

“Don’t speak her name.” 

“Don’t be over dramatic.” 

“I’m not the one crawling around in the grass for a piece of resin that’s halfway across the galaxy.”

“It’s not a piece of resin,” Leksa defended. “And how do you know where it is?”

“Oh, I don’t know where it is. But I know who has it! Little swindling fucker.”

“What are you talking about, Griffin?”

“My name is Clarke,” She didn’t want Lexa calling her by the name that Anya had. “And I know what happened to the thing.”

“The Flame.”

“The Flame. I know what happened. Finn Collins pulled the old switch-a-roo on me. He acted like he was helping me get a lead box to protect me but I bet he got himself a box and put the Flame in his box, giving me the empty one. He’s a smuggler and a thief. And you can bet he’s halfway across the galaxy with it. Probably even already has a buyer.”

“We have to find him,” Leksa stood from the ground.

 

“We?”

 

“Yes. We. You know what he looks like.”

“Actually, I’m here to arrest you. The only place we are going is back to Polis so I can turn you in to the authorities.”

“I can’t let that happen Grif--Clarke.” 

“You don’t have a choice, Lexa,” Clarke answered as Leksa felt the stun cuffs close over her wrists.


	8. Rogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke marches Lexa back to Polis. Can Lexa find a way to escape the Jedi Apprentice?

Rogue

Clarke walked behind Lexa making sure to keep enough distance that the Sith couldn’t round on her but staying close enough that if the girl tried to make a run for it, Clarke could still catch up with her. They’d walked at least a half of a mile in complete silence but Clarke could feel Lexa’s mind working. More than once she’d had to fight the urge to execute Lexa for Anya’s murder but she reminded herself that revenge was a path to the Dark Side. 

“You’re angry,” Lexa broke the silence between them. “But what is it you hope to accomplish by turning me in? It won’t bring your master back.”

“No, but at least I will know that justice has been served.”

“Justice,” Lexa scoffed. “You’re a Jedi, you know nothing of justice.”

“And the Sith do?” Clarke nudged Lexa forward as the brunette had slowed her pace when she started talking. 

“No one does, Clarke. Justice is a myth. It is a lie the authorities promote for the sake of order.” 

“Justice is not a myth, Lexa. It is a goal. And one that is not always achieved perfectly but should still be sought.”

“Naive,” Lexa picked her pace back up.

“Cynical,” Clarke returned with an insult of her own, 

A deer burst forth out of the brush, startling Clarke. Lexa hadn’t even reacted. She’d sensed it before it had made its presence known. It shamed her that this greenhorn apprentice had managed to get the jump on her and put her in stun cuffs. Lexa rolled her eyes at her own predicament. 

Clarke noticed that the deer had an extra appendage growing out of its hip. She watched as the spare leg got tangled in a bush. She wondered if it would be more merciful to put the beast down. She stopped and reached for her blade. 

“Don’t kill her,” Lexa called. “She’s learned to cope with it. She’s only frightened because she didn’t expect us. She’ll let you free her if you approach her slowly. But you can help her more than you’ve considered. If you cut the extra limb with the lightsaber, it will cauterize the wound. She’ll be in pain but it will heal and she will be free of that added burden.”

Clarke knew that Lexa’s line of reasoning was solid. She crept toward the doe willing her through the Force to remain calm. The deer’s ears twitched a couple of times and Clarke saw her black nostrils go wide as she learned Clarke’s scent. The blue hum of Clarke’s blade caused the deer to jerk away as Clarke thumbed it on but she didn’t break free from the bush. With one clean slice, Clarke severed the mutated limb and the doe bolted off into the woods away from them.

“Well done,” Lexa complimented. 

Clarke shut down her blade and hooked it back on her belt clip. “Keep moving,” she ordered. 

Lexa turned back and resumed walking. The trail was making a steeper descent now. Lexa knew that meant that they were getting closer to the city center. If she was going to make her getaway, she would have to find an opportunity soon. 

“I need you to make me a promise,” Lexa called.

“Me, make you a promise! Ha. As if I would do anything for you. You murdered Anya and then you launched that missile.”

“But I didn’t, Clarke. Anya and I had a fair fight. One that she lost. Killing in combat is not murder. Or you yourself are a killer, am I not right? And, the missile was going to be launched into the heart of Polis, I only caused the spotter to mis-direct. And yes, I am sorry for any Trikru who may have lost their lives because of my decision but the missile was going to take lives either way.”

“But you knew about the missile, which leads me to think that you were behind it being launched in the first place.” Clarke wasn’t about to give her an inch.

Lexa decided to change tactics. “You’re right. But that doesn’t change the fact that I need you to stop the smuggler. The Flame can not fall into the wrong hands, Clarke.”

“The way I see it, better his hands than yours.”

“The Hutts? The Trade Federation? You can’t think of worse hands than mine?”

“You are a Sith, Lexa.”

“Whether Sith or Jedi, I am the rightful heir to the Flame. I only allied with the Sith to claim what was mine. My loyalty. . . nevermind. You’re so indoctrinated in the Jedi ways that you could never understand.”

Clarke didn’t know why she was listening to Lexa’s bullshit but she wanted the girl to continue. There was something haunting and painful in Lexa’s voice that pulled at Clarke in a way that she hadn’t expected. 

“What do you mean by the rightful heir?”

“It doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that you promise me that even after they execute me, you will find the smuggler. You will bring the Flame to my master so that he may find a suitable host.”

“Host?”

“A Commander.”

“Commander of what?” Clarke was starting to get concerned.

“You really need to read more of Arkadia III’s history.”

“You’re talking about a Heda. Those were the old ways.” 

“The Flame is going to make the old ways new again. With or without me. Master Titus will find another Natblida. The Grounders will rise again, Clarke. Your people will be deposed. The Mountain will fall. The world will be restored. Trigeda will have a home again. A real home free of threat where our children can thrive. And once we’ve claimed Trigeda, Arkadia III we will move against the galaxy.”

Clarke could tell that there was something about the last bit that didn’t really appeal to Lexa at all. She didn’t think the girl cared anything about galactic domination. But she could see in her eyes that she did care about Arkadia III. She’d talked about it as if she’d been raised on it’s toxic soils. 

“The Senate will never let that happen.” Clarke could see the Polis tower as they rounded the mountain. They’d be in the city within the hour. 

“Master Titus has plans for them.”

“I bet he does. I just bet he does.” And it was then that Clarke realized that Lexa wasn’t the real threat. Titus was the zealot. Lexa was only interested in restoring Trikru to their former position of glory in Arkadia. It was Titus who wanted the Commander to rule the galaxy. She knew what she had to do. Lexa was right. If Polis executed the young Sith, Titus would just find a new Natblida and maybe one more inclined to galactic domination than Leksa kom Trikru. Clarke had to keep the Flame out of Titus’ hands and the only way to ensure that was to get the Flame back herself. “Stop,” she ordered. “Turn around.”

Lexa did as commanded.

“Raise your hands.” Clarke reached into her pocket and grabbed the remote that operated the stun cuffs. They quit humming. Clarke fingered the switch and pulled the bindings off of Lexa and stored them in her bag. “We find Finn together. But when it’s done, you are still going to stand trial for you crimes. “

Leksa nodded her head. There was no way she was ever going to let the Jedi or Skaikru stand in judgement of her but if that’s what Clarke needed to believe in order to help her, she’d play along. “Now, we just have to get off planet.”

“That, I can handle.” Clarke sighed. She couldn’t believe she was allying herself with the enemy but she told herself it was for the Greater Good. And as a Jedi Apprentice she had sworn to protect the galaxy. This was the right decision. It was the only decision. But she knew the Jedi Council would forbid it. Jedi and Sith working together. She’d have to go rogue. 

She looked up at Lexa who was studying her face closely. 

“You’re doing the right thing.” Lexa moved toward her.

“I wasn’t looking for your approval.” Clarke stood stiffly in place. She wasn’t sure why the Sith was edging toward her.

Lexa grinned and stopped her forward progress. She was going to offer to shake the girl’s hand but decided that Clarke wasn’t open to it. “Right. So what’ the plan?”

“We take your ship. They’ll be able to trace me too easily.”

“Agreed. But the spaceport is on lockdown.”

“But it won’t be. Tonight. More Jedi are coming. They have to let the shields down to let them in. That’s when we make our move.”

“To my ship, then?”

“Yes, it’s as good a place to wait as any.”

Clarke nodded and then pulled out her comms device and dropped it to the forest floor. She crushed it under her boot.

“Good thinking.” Lexa eyed her with respect. They were going to make a good team. “Any other devices they might be able to track you with?”

“I think that’s it. Let’s go.”

“I’m docked in landing bay thirteen. It’s this way..” 

Clarke gave one last look at the Polis tower before following Lexa toward the spaceport.


	9. Nightbleeder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Lexa wait in the Nightbleeder and try to figure out where Finn may have taken the Flame.

The Nightbleeder was a sleek, black modified F-type Nubian space yacht. As they approached the landing pad where it sat, Clarke gave Lexa a hard side-eye. “The Darkside must pay well.”

“I won it, fair and square. In a game of Dejarik.” Lexa smirked and pulled a remote from her red cape. She pressed a button and the boarding ramp lowered. 

“You know, using your Force abilities to anticipate an opponent’s move isn’t fair and square.”

“You sound like Master Anya,” Lexa half-smiled as she remembered playing the game with her old master on long hyperspace journeys. “I didn’t cheat, Clarke. I don’t have to. I’m an expert strategist.”

Clarke wished that the Sith would quit talking so casually about their mutual master who she’d slain only hours earlier. “Well then, if you were Finn, what would be your next move?”

Lexa held out her outstretched arm inviting Clarke into her personal ship. As Clarke reached the ramp, she noticed the weapons modifications that Lexa had added to the ship. A regular F-type Nubian lacked weapons but made up for that in speed and powerful shields. Lexa, however, had added twin laser cannons, one on each fin that flanked from the ship’s central hull, and a proton torpedo cannon had been mounted to the underside. The ship could choose to run, defend itself, or fight. Clarke had to admit, the modifications had been smart additions. Clarke boarded the ship without commenting on the guns.

The interior of the ship was anything but the luxury one would expect on such a yacht. Where the Chancellor’s yacht had been full of fancy creature comforts, Lexa had stripped the Nubian down to it’s barest essentials. The entry hall also served as the main recreational area. But instead of plush couches and holonet view screens, the sole entertainment was the holographic Dejarik board flanked by two black leather chairs. Other than that, it looked to Clarke as if it served as a gym for Lexa to train while she was in hyperspace. There was a treadclimber and a rowing machine for both lower and upper body workouts. A bank of free weights lined the far wall and there was an open space which Clarke guessed served as a spot for yoga, meditation, and working on combat moves. 

“It’s usually just me,” Lexa commented as she watched Clarke take in her living space. She didn’t really like having a stranger seeing her intimate world but it couldn’t really be helped. She needed the Skygirl. “As far as Finn goes. I’d head to the Outer Rim. Try to sell the Flame to either another smuggler or the Hutts.”

“I considered that. But there is a good chance that he has no idea what he has his hands on?”

Lexa nodded. “Come on, the galley is this way. You’re right. Do you know of any antiquities dealers in the Outer Rim. I just can’t see him going Coreward with a hot item in his pocket.”

“I agree, we should start with the Outer Rim but that’s a big place with uncooperative people. I wish we had a way to narrow it down.”

The light sensors registered them as they walked into the galley and the small kitchen was bathed in low light. “Grab you some food out of the cooler, I’ll grab my datapad and we can try to eliminate areas we think he will avoid.”

“Good idea,” Clarke nodded and opened the tiny fridge. With Lexa’s lean body, it hadn’t surprised her that the Sith ate a healthy diet. Protein squares made up the bulk of the food but Clarke was happy to find some fresh leafy veggies and some cheese. She pulled out enough to throw together a quick dinner for the two of them. Clarke smelled the blue bantha milk to make sure it hadn’t soured before she poured them each a cup.

Lexa returned with her flat data pad in hand. She was surprised to find that Clarke had bothered to fix her a place setting as well. She only had one chair in the galley so she pulled it out and motioned for Clarke to sit. 

“I don’t want to steal your seat.”

“I’ll grab a crate.” Lexa opened a small storage closet and pulled out a hard plastic crate. She turned it upside down near the table and sat opposite of Clarke. She pushed her data pad across the table to the Jedi Apprentice. “You know him better than I do, what are his usual haunts?”

“Well, they ran him off Naboo. So, I think he will avoid it at all costs. Kessel, maybe, it’s close enough to Hutt space,” Clarke took a bite of the sandwich she’d made from the lettuce, protein squares, and cheese. She decided that it wasn’t that bad. She wondered what flavor the protein squares were, it wasn’t a meat with which she was familiar. “Tatooine maybe. Hutt’s control a lot of it. Not much in Endor for a smuggler.”

“Ewok jerky,” Lexa commented on the fact that unscrupulous raiders could make good money killing Ewoks for their meat.

“He’s an opportunist, not a murderer.”

“That’s good to know. This sandwich is good, by the way. Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome.” Clarke looked across the table at the woman. It seemed entirely bizarre that they were sitting in Lexa’s galley breaking bread on the same evening that Lexa had killed Anya. Clarke pushed the thought aside. She couldn’t think about that and still do what needed to be done. She looked back down at Lexa’s data pad. “If only we had a way of finding the coordinates he used to jump to hyperspace.”

“Are you sure he’s even off planet? Maybe he got grounded just like me.”  


“That’s a good point.” Clarke typed on the flat screen furiously. “Damn, he’s gone.”

“How do you know?” Lexa craned her neck to look across the table at the computer.

“I hacked into the spaceports logs.” Clarke grinned sheepishly.

“An honest Jedi like you?” Lexa feigned disgust.

“Shof op, Raven taught me a thing or two.” Clarke looked to the floor embarrassed that she’d used the Trigedaselng term. She rarely spoke the language of the Woods Clan but she had picked up some phrases from Anya. She wondered what it was about Lexa that had brought that subconsciously to the surface. 

“Well, what did you find?”

“Bastard left right after I saw him in the market. He wasn’t wasting any time. But hey, it looks like they actually have his jump coordinates logged here.”

“But how? That’s supposed to be private information.”

“He’s a known smuggler, Lexa. Chances are they have him under surveillance.”

“Yeah, he’s a smuggler. Wouldn’t he scramble it some way so they can’t trail him.”

“He’s also very cocky. Full of himself. Probably thinks he is invincible.” Clarke shook her head.

“So Skygirl, where are we headed?”

Clarke looked back at the datapad and tapped a tiny sphere. “Muunilinst.”

Simultaneously the girls cried, “the bankers.”

They looked at each other slightly awkward. “So, he hasn’t figured out what the Flame is, he’s going to the bankers to learn its value.” Lexa said.

“Let’s hope he doesn’t figure it out before we’ve had a chance to catch up with him.”

“He already has a good four hours on us. How long do we have to wait for those shields to come down?” Lexa finished the last of her bantha milk.

“The other Jedi are due to land at 18:00. I’m guessing we will only have a small window, maybe like five minutes either way. Can you work with that?”

“I can do it in two, Clarke.”

“There is no need for swagger, Lexa.”

“There’s always need for swagger, Clarke.”

Clarke smiled in spite of herself but she looked down at her wristwatch so that Lexa couldn’t see her grin. They didn’t have much time to wait. “We should go ahead and plot the hyperspace coordinates for Muunilinst. We won’t have much time when we blow out of here. Security will be on us fast and if they get us in their tractor beams we’re done for.”

“You mean, I’m done for. It’s me they’ll execute. I’m sure the Council will just give you a slap on the wrist. Worst case scenario for you, is that you get sent to the farms for a month or so to teach younglings.”

Clarke nodded. “So let’s don’t mess it up.”

“How are you at flying?”

“Serviceable.”

“Well then, let me show you around my cockpit. Maybe I have time to teach you how to handle her before we blast off.”

Clarke cocked her head at Lexa. Then shook off her thoughts. She reddened at where her mind had gone. This woman had killed her master and here Clarke was grinning like a schoolgirl. “Let’s do it.” Clarke responded and realized after the words left her mouth that she’d rolled out a double entendre of her own.

“Let’s” Lexa smiled as she walked Clarke to the ship’s cockpit.


	10. Incognito

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa and Clarke make their way to Muunilinst in their search for Finn. How will they deal with their emerging mutual attraction?

The alarm bleeped on the nav panel of the Nightbleeder rousing Leksa from her nap. She’d offered Clarke her own private sleeping chambers and had slept in the captain’s chair in the cockpit herself. Sometime during her sleep, she’d thrown off the thin emergency blanket that she’d pulled from the storage closet. She looked down at the nav display. They would be arriving in-system in an hour. 

It felt weird to knock on the doors of her own bedchamber. She’d never had a guest onboard her ship before, at least not an overnight guest. And she certainly never let anyone inside her most private place before. She wasn’t actually quite sure why she’d made the offer to the Jedi apprentice. She supposed she deserved the stiffness that now plagued her lower back since it was due to her chivalry. She rolled her eyes at herself as she rapped lightly on the door.

“Come in,” Clarke was apparently already awake.

Leksa waved her hand over the door control and it slid open. The blonde’s hair was down and tousled from sleep. It spilled over her milky shoulders which were bare in the tank that she wore. Leksa swallowed the lump in her throat. She’d only see the girl in her Jedi robes. She was enjoying a peek at Clarke’s soft but defined arms. But more than that, she felt her face go flush at the sight of the girl’s pebbled nipples which pushed stiffly against the white ribbed fabric. 

Clarke caught Lexa’s line of vision and blushed herself. She grabbed her overshirt from the chair and pulled it over her shoulders. “I never get used to the cold of hyperspace,” she said defensively.

“I wasn’t. . .” Leksa stammered at being caught staring. 

“Whatever,” Clarke ran her belt through her pant loops. “Are we getting close?”

“An hour from orbit,” Leksa was glad for the distraction. She needed to forget her physical attraction to the blonde. She was the enemy. And besides, Clarke hated her. Hated her for Anya. Although Leksa wasn’t sure if anyone could hate her for Anya anymore than she hated herself. But she wasn’t going to think about that now. “We will still have to make our way to Harnaidan once we get clearance to land.”

“Of course. Did you sleep at all?” Clarke asked. She had no idea what they would face on Muunilinst or if they would even find Finn at all. Plus, she was fairly sure that the Jedi realized that she was gone now and she knew they would need to avoid attention as much as possible. She couldn’t afford for Lexa to make a mistake because she was fatigued.

“Yeah, I got a few hours.”

“Good.” Clarke worked to put her hair up.

“I can help you with that.” Leksa offered.

Clarke looked at her skeptically.

“Look, I was thinking that maybe you should do something different with it. I mean what if they put images of you on the holonet. You should at least try to look unrecognizable.”

The thought hadn’t occurred to Clarke. “It’s not likely that they’ll broadcast a runaway Jedi to the general public.” But then Clarke remembered when Leksa had left the Jedi. “But they’ll send notices to all the Knights and apprentices. So you’re right.”

“I can braid it for you. The way I wear mine, if you’d like.”

Clarke looked at the Sith. “Trikru style?”

“It’s my heritage, yes. I guess you think that it is beneath a Skaigirl like yourself.”

“Just do it. I don’t want them finding me before I find Finn. And maybe I should have some fake tattoos or face markings, what do you think?”

“I can do your eyes, if you’d like.”

Clarke nodded. “Very well,” then she sat sideways on the bed.

Leksa moved in behind her and took the golden strands in her fingers and started plaiting. Her fingers worked swiftly and deftly. She only shifted a couple of times uncomfortably when she found herself admiring the exposed white expanse of Clarke’s delicate neck. And she was forced to look away once quickly when she caught Clarke’s reflection looking at her in the closet-mounted mirror. 

When Leksa had finished, Clarke surveyed the work, “When this is all said and done, you’ll have to teach me how to do that.’

“Sure,” Leksa agreed even though they both knew when this was all said and done and their personal armistice was over, Clarke would try to have her arrested for Anya’s murder and there was no way that Leksa was going to go willingly. “It suits you,” Leksa said honestly. She wouldn’t have thought it possible that Clarke could have been anymore becoming than she’d been when she walked into the room to find her half-dressed and hair tousled but there something pleasant in seeing Clarke’s hair braided in Trikru fashion. 

“The makeup?” Clarke was growing slightly uncomfortable under Lexa’s gaze. She didn’t like the feelings that were stirring within her. She should loathe the Sith standing before her but instead she’d found herself joying in the feeling of the murderer’s hands in her hair, her eyes on her body. She was beginning to feel thirsty in a way that she’d chided Raven and Octavia for. Clarke shook off her thoughts. They were insane. Lexa was a condemned woman as far as she was concerned. And when the current mission was done, so were they. 

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Harnaidan, Muunilinst’s capital city was a huge metropolis with towering skyscrapers and busy roadways. It was the kind of place that it was easy to blend in, that is, until you started asking questions. There were several competing banks and there was no way of knowing which one Finn might have gone to to get an estimate on the Flame. And that was assuming that he even came to Muunilinst and further assuming that he had chosen the capital to do his business. 

“Do you think you can hack into the spaceport logs here like you did in Arkadia III?” Lexa asked as she sat the Nightbleeder down on the landing pad. 

“I can give it a try but I am betting that with this being a banking planet, their security is going to be top-notch.”

“You’re right. Let’s not try it just now. We don’t want to tip anyone off unnecessarily.”

“Right,” Clarke nodded her agreement. “So where should we start?”

“I have an idea.”

Ten minutes later, Clarke watched half-impressed, half-appalled at the skill with which Lexa had Force-manipulated information out of one of the spaceport workers and then Force-wiped his memory of the entire encounter.

“Don’t look so judgemental. We do what we must. And we have his landing pad number now, don’t we?” Lexa said defensively.

“Still doesn’t make it right,” Clarke protested as they made their way toward Finn’s ship. 

They’d gone about fifty meters when Leksa’s transmitter pinged. She chose to ignore it. It could only be from one person and she knew he was going to be furious with her for failing to blow up Polis. When he found out that she didn’t have the Flame, he was going to be even more displeased. They walked through two more rows of landed aircraft and her communicator sounded again.

“Do you need to get that?” The chime was beginning to annoy Clarke. She wished the Sith would at least silence the device. They were trying to be inconspicuous after all! 

“I’ll deal with him later,” Lexa answered.  
“Worried boyfriend?” Clarke jibbed. She was fairly sure that it was the Sith Lord to whom Lexa answered. 

“I don’t have boyfriends Clarke,” Lexa answered and then leaned in to whisper in Clarke’s ear, “I like girls.”

Lexa’s breath on her ear and neck sent shivers of pure pleasure rippling through Clarke’s core to her very center. It was a sensation of wanton heat that she’d never experienced before in her life and she had to fight the urge to turn her face to Lexa’s and take the girl’s mouth as her own. “Well, whoever it is is getting on my nerves,” Clarke quipped as the communicator rang again.

“Look, I better take this.”

“Yeah, sounds important.”

“Wait here?”

Clarke nodded as Lexa slinked between rows of aircraft far enough away so that Clarke couldn’t overhear her conversation. It was bad enough that she was going to have to listen to Titus bark at her, she didn’t think she could endure the embarrassment of being reprimanded in front of Clarke. 

Leksa flipped open her device and a pocket size image of Titus floated in her palm. “You’ve been avoiding me, Apprentice.”

“My Lord.”

“Don’t My Lord me, Leksa kom Trikru. You have failed woefully. You blew up a tiny insignificant village and left the capitol standing. Tell me that you at least have the Flame in your possession.”

“My Lord, we are close to retrieving it.”

“We?”

“Yes, my Lord. The Jedi Apprentice and I. It was taken by a smuggler. She knows him, She’s helping me find him.”

Titus was silent for a minute. Leksa could feel him studying her across the galaxy. She could also sense that he found her lacking. “Are you certain that is the only reason you brought her along?”

“Of course, my Lord.”

“Your feelings betray you, my young apprentice.”

Lexa took a deep breath. “It’s a mere fancy, Nothing more.”

“See that it doesn’t become more.” Titus ordered. “We will discuss Polis later. For now, retrieve the Flame and bring it to me at once.”

“Yes, Master.”

The image of Titus flickered to nothingness and Leksa closed the device and pocketed it. She tried to wipe the shame from her face before she walked back to where Clarke waited. What was she doing? Titus was right. She needed to crush her growing feelings for the Skaigril. They could come to nothing. Even if the attraction was merely physical, she wouldn’t let herself act on it. But then she saw Clarke standing there with an impatient scowl and Leksa’s belly turned in on itself again. “Come on Skaigirl, we are wasting time.”

“I wasn’t the one checking in like child,” Clarke reminded. 

The barb hit home. Leksa had felt like a scolded child and she didn’t care for the feeling at all. She took the communicator from her pocket, tossed it to the ground, and crushed it under her boot. 

Clarke smiled, “Now we are both incognito.”

“Together,” Leksa reached her arm out to Clarke.

Clarke clasped their arms together. “Sha, together.” She didn’t even bother to chide herself for speaking in Trigedasleng this time.

Lexa let herself relax a little but she knew better than to get too comfortable. She knew her master could find her through the Force and she knew he wasn’t above using the Force to find her even if she didn’t want to be found. 

“It’s here. That’s his ship,” Clarke pointed to Finn’s spacecraft. 

Clarke was surprised to find the ramp unlocked. When she pressed the button, the ramp began lowering. It didn’t take them long to discover why the ramp hadn’t been locked. Finn lay sprawled across the floor with a blaster hole in his gut, the floor was covered in blood. Whoever had killed him must have left in a hurry or couldn’t have locked the door from the outside.

“I’m sorry,” Lexa placed a comforting hand on Clarke’s shoulder.

“Me too.” Clarke took a minute then looked at Lexa. “We need to search him. I’m sure they killed him for the Flame and I doubt it is here but we should search the place, nonetheless.”

“I’ll search him, you start searching the ship.” Lexa offered to save Clarke the pain of having to search her friend’s dead body.

“If it’s all the same to you, I owe it to him, I’m not a stranger, you are. I’ll search him. And, Lexa, we have to give him a proper send off. I can’t leave him here like this.”

Lexa nodded. The Skaigirl impressed her. Maybe all of Skaikru weren’t all heartless, spineless bastards after all. Maybe.


	11. Veil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Lexa look for clues as to who killed Finn and took the Flame. They also grow closer.

When Clarke finished searching Finn’s lifeless form, she closed his eyes then found an emergency blanket in a utility closet to cover his body. Finn wasn’t a Jedi so it didn’t feel right for Clarke to send him off by invoking the Force. So instead, when she covered him, she simply stated, “May we meet again.”

Clarke turned her attention to cockpit, looking for any compartments that Finn might have hidden the Flame in. She rifled through nook after nook but turned up nothing but old receipts, loose change, and chewing gum. She didn’t know how they were ever going to find the Flame or discover if Finn’s murderer took it. Then, it occurred to her that as a smuggler, Finn probably had a sophisticated security system which meant that whoever killed him had likely been let into the ship by Finn. So, either he’d known his killer or he’d called them there specifically about the Flame. Of course, it could have been an encounter about something else Finn had been smuggling. He could have owed someone money, Upset the Hutts. Really there were a myriad of reasons why someone would want a smuggler dead. Clarke realized that focusing on the Flame had blinded her to other possibilities.

Clarke fell back into the pilot’s chair and looked back to Finn’s covered body. She’d searched him, searched the entire cockpit and entry cabin. Lexa was working on the rest of the ship. Clarke’s mind wandered back to Finn’s security system. There was something she hadn’t considered. He had to have cameras on board. But where were they? And where were the controls? Clarke looked over the control panels again. She’d had basic flying lessons but nothing too advanced. There were plenty of knobs and switches with which she was completely unfamiliar. Still, the Force was her ally. Clarke closed her eyes and let her hand hover over the panel. 

Lexa emerged from the back of the ship. “What are you doing?”

“Well, I was trying to concentrate.” Clarke exhaled sharply.

“Well can you make it quick? I’ve found something.” 

Clarke swiveled around in the pilot’s chair.

Lexa was holding a datapad. Clarke could see a video had been paused on the pad. “You found his security camera files?”

“I did and I don’t think you should watch. There were two of them. They took the Flame and shot him anyway. But I was wondering if you could identify the two men in the video.”

“I just searched his body. I think I can watch the video of him being gunned down, Lexa.” Clarke shot an exasperated look at Lexa. Why was this Sith trying to protect her feelings? Clarke couldn’t make sense of Lexa. 

“Suit yourself. He suffered. But not for long.”

“The wound told me that much.” Clarke reached for the datapad.

“Of course,” Lexa placed the pad in Clarke’s hand. She was surprised at the jolt of excitement that ran through her when her long fingers brushed along Clarke’s.

Clarke tapped the pause symbol and the video came to life. 

The camera was mounted so that Finn stood facing the camera, the two men could be seen from the back of the head. The man with the brown hair seemed young to Clarke. Maybe it was the cut of his hair or his irreverent posture but something about him screamed youth. The black man was the same height but his stockier build made Clarke think he was at least twenty years the younger man’s senior. Clarke didn’t recognize either man, but there was no mistaking the logo patch on their flight jackets. Black Sun.

“Do you see that?” Clarke asked.

“Yeah, I noticed. If Black Sun has the Flame, getting it back is going to be nearly impossible.”

Black Sun was a galaxy wide crime syndicate and they cared for neither Jedi nor Sith. They were driven by one thing. Profit.

“We have to find these two men. If the Flame gets into the hands of higher ups in the syndicate then you’ll never see it again.” Clarke warned.

“I agree.” Lexa took back the datapad and started swiping.

“What are you thinking?” Clarke studied the determined features of the Stith beauty.

“Looking to see if your friend had any facial recognition software installed on this thing.”

“Good idea.”

“Eureka!” 

Lexa returned to the video. The only moment the men’s faces were visible was as they turned to exit the ship. She paused the video and cropped the younger man’s face and pasted it into the facial recognition software.

While the program worked, she said softly to Clarke, “So, how do you want to handle his remains? Getting him off the ship without being noticed. . .”

“I was going to call the authorities.”

Lexa shook her head. “They’ll want a statement from you. Your ID.”

“Right. And then the Jedi will know where to find me.”

Lexa nodded. 

“I can’t just leave him here.”

“What if you make the call anonymously.”

Clarke looked back at Finn. It felt shameful but she really couldn’t think of a better way and at least she would know that he wouldn’t be left there to rot. “Okay, it’s probably the best way.”

The software pinged. “We’ve got a hit,” Lexa grinned and turned the pad to face Clarke, “His name is John Murphy, low level thief, smuggler, did time in juvie and is wanted in twelve systems.”

“Try the other man. The one who pulled the trigger.”

Lexa repeated the process for the dark skinned smuggler.

“You know, they could still be on planet,” Clarke said hopefully.

“Maybe. But if they know what they have on their hands.”

“And what exactly do they have on their hands, Lexa? I mean what use is any of that knowledge outside of Arkadia III? Why is it worth killing over?”

Lexa had grown to like Clarke in their brief time together. Maybe she was even beginning to trust the Jedi Apprentice but still she held back. 

“Oh, I can’t know what is so important that you fear your Master’s wrath if you don’t deliver.”

“I don’t fear his wrath,” Lexa defended. “It is rightfully mine. It is my birthright.” Lexa argued.

“I’m not sure how you’ve worked that out. Because from what I’ve read about Grounder politics on Arkadia III, the Flame was fought for in some kind of ritualistic bloodbath and the chip was given to the victor who then became the leader of the Grounders.”

“That’s right.” Lexa confirmed.

“Then it isn’t anyone’s birthright, is it? I mean you haven’t fought for it. You haven’t earned it.”

Lexa’s glare darkened and Clarke thought for a minute that Lexa might ignite her blade and challenge Clarke to a duel. She could see that she had insulted the Sith’s honor. Maybe even made her question her right to have the Flame. But Lexa quickly gained control of her emotions. Clarke saw the brunette’s jaw tense, then relax as she swallowed whatever retort she was about to utter. 

“Look, I don’t want to fight,” Clarke said.

“Neither do I. I only meant to say that the reasons I want the Flame are not necessarily the reasons that the Flame would be attractive to others.”

“I believe you.” And Clarke did. She really was convinced that Lexa was more concerned with righting what she perceived of as wrongs that had occurred on Arkadia III than she was any type of galactic domination. Still, she wasn’t as convinced that the Sith Lord Titus had such local issues in mind. Clarke was certain that his goals were much more sinister.

Finally, the software pinged. 

Lexa shrugged. “No match.”

“What?”

“There’s no match for the black man. He doesn’t have a record.”

“Which means he’s either new at this or really good,” Clarke sighed.

“I’m going with, really good,” Lexa wiped down the pad so that it would be clean of their prints. “Where else did you touch?”

“What? Everywhere.” Clarke gestured to the ship’s control panel.

“Did you wear gloves?”

“No.”

“Amature,” Lexa shook her head. “Come on, help me wipe it down.”

But before they could get started on the job, an alarm started bleeping. Lexa looked down at the datapad, a new image popped onto the screen. It was from a security camera mounted on the outside of the ship. Eight heavily armed local cops were headed there way. Four Muun’s, two humans, and two droids. 

“This way,” Lexa called as she pulled Clarke toward the back of the ship. She grabbed the datapad as she moved.

“Where are we going?”

“If the authorities see us here, there will be all kinds of questions.” 

“But we will show them the video file.” 

“We don’t have time to get caught up in a police investigation, Clarke. We need to hide, now.”

“But where?” 

“I found a panel in Finn’s personal quarters. It’s our best chance. And with this, at least we will have eyes on them,” Lexa handed Clarke the datapad as she opened the door to Finn’s quarters. 

Finn’s sleeping area was fairly modest which surprised Clarke. For all of his flourish he kept things simple. Clarke wondered if she ever knew the boy at all. She looked down at the datapad, the security forces had entered the ship and were now standing over Finn’s body. One of the Muuns ordered the droids to guard the entrance and told the other two Muun’s to look to the body. He then turned to the humans. “Search the ship.”

“Lexa we need to hurry.”

“The panel is under here.” Lexa pulled back a rug to indeed reveal a hidden compartment. The Sith pulled a bone-handled blade from her belt and popped open the door. The space below was meant for smuggling goods not people. It was barely large enough to hide a grown man. It was going to be a tight squeeze but they didn’t have to time to look for another place. 

Clarke looked at Lexa doubtful.

“Best I could do on short notice, Clarke.” 

“It’ll have to work,” Clarke climbed into the hole and then realized that to close the door, she was going to have to lay down. “Great.” she muttered and moved to her side to make room for Lexa.

Lexa crawled in after her and did her best to pull the rug over the door as she quietly closed the metal lid. A sliver of light shined down on them from the room above. And Lexa knew if they could see the light then the police would be able to see the crevice which indicated the door. She concentrated on the threads of the rug and using the Force, maneuvered it securely in place over the door. The hole went pitch. Clarke sucked in a startled air which forced her breasts against Lexa’s right bicep. “You aren’t claustrophobic are you, Skaigirl?” Lexa teased to distract herself from the sensations that Clarke’s nearness was causing.

“Shut up, Lexa.”

The sound of boots clanging down the corridor cut off their banter. Lexa heard the door to Finn’s personal chambers open. The guard walked into the room. When he stepped on the rug, the door creaked ever so slightly. With what little room she had to move, Lexa waved her hand and whispered, “There is nothing to see here.”

After a beat, the cop called out to his comrades, “There is nothing to see here,” and then they heard the door to Finn’s chambers slide shut. Clarke had seen Jedi Masters perform such mind tricks but had never seen anyone of Lexa’s age do it so effortlessly. In fairness, she thought, she hadn’t seen Lexa do it either. It was too dark to see anything. Clarke felt Lexa reach over her and then suddenly their little chamber was illuminated. The datapad!

“You’re a genius! I could kiss you,” Clarke cried when she saw the light.

“You are afraid of the dark!”

Clarke blushed. “I’m not, it’s just that we could be in here a long time and---”

“And, this battery will give out eventually,” Lexa whispered.

Clarke’s face fell.

Lexa grinned. Clarke was afraid of the dark. “But hopefully, they will be gone by then.”

“Hopefully,” Clarke echoed.

Lexa lay on her back and held the datapad up as far as her arms could go until the back of her hands hit the door above them, which was only about a foot away from her face. Clarke lay next to Lexa on her side. Even though both women were relatively thin, there wasn’t enough room for them both to lay on their backs. The datapad screen was still on the camera in the cabin near the cockpit where Finn’s body lay. Two Muuns looked over his corpse for any clues the same way Clarke had done. But they were less reverent, less delicate. Clarke couldn’t watch it, she buried her head in the crook between Lexa’s shoulder and neck.

“I can thumb it off, if you like.” Lexa offered.

“No, it’s fine. We need to know what’s happening.” Clarke said but didn’t move her face. 

Lexa closed her eyes only briefly to steel herself against the feeling of Clarke’s warm breath against her neck. She realized at once and it startled her that the reason that she hadn’t killed Clarke when she’d killed Anya was because she’d felt an instant attraction to the girl. Worse, she realized that that attraction was starting to grow into something more. She wanted Clarke. Wanted to be able to kiss her, to touch her freely. 

Whistles blew off in her head. These were not things a Sith should crave! And even if Clarke returned her attraction, there was no way a good Jedi would ever act on such feelings. Jedis were forbidden to make personal attachments. And for good reason. If you had feelings for someone, then that person could be used against you. It could only bring both parties pain and suffering and those were paths to the Dark Side. 

Clarke shifted at Lexa’s side.

“Uncomfortable? We can switch positions.”

Lexa smooshed herself as tightly as she could against the wall on her left side which gave Clarke just enough room to lay on her back. “Better?” Lexa asked.

“Better,” Clarke nodded.

“Do you mind if I rest this on your belly?”

“No, go ahead,” Clarke answered and Lexa laid the datapad over Clarke’s flat tummy. 

“The rest of the guards are back in the main chamber.” Lexa watched the monitor.

Clarke studied Lexa’s face. How could someone so evil be so beautiful? But was she evil? Really? The longer Clarke was around the girl the more she was convinced that Lexa wasn’t evil at all, just lonely. But she was lonely too. Clarke reminded herself, and she’d never been tempted to the Dark Side. And she certainly could have never killed Master Anya.

“Why did you do it?” Clarke’s voice broke as she asked the question.

Lexa knew that Clarke was talking about Anya and she hated that Clarke had picked now to ask. Now when she didn’t have an exit. “Clarke. Don’t.”

“I need to know.” Clarke implored.

“Why?”

“Because it’s not you. Not the real you.” 

“You don’t know the real me.” Lexa wet her lips and shook her head in frustration.

“I see you. It hurt you to kill her. It hurts you still to talk about her. You aren’t the heartless, soulless monster you want everyone to think you are.”

Lexa looked down into Clarke’s blue eyes and was surprised by the what she saw there, the same desire that burned in her own. Clarke was as moved by their nearness as she. She could see Clarke’s chest rise and fall quicker as her breathing picked up tempo. If she concentrated hard enough she could hear the blonde’s pulse quicken. 

“Nothing can come of this, Clarke,” Lexa’s protest was meant to remind herself as much as it was to tell Clarke that they could never be anything but enemies. 

The longing and desperation in Lexa’s voice was Clarke’s undoing. She reached up and butterly caressed Lexa’s face with the back of her hand. “It doesn’t have to leave this place, Lexa. But show me you. For one instant, show me willingly the woman I see dancing behind your veil of darkness.” 

Lexa crushed her lips to Clarke’s and kissed her with a passion that surprised neither of them but that sent them both spiraling into a whirlwind of desire. Their tongues clashed against each other in a duel more fierce than any lightsaber fight. Their bodies moved together as much as the cramped space would allow. Lexa could hear the need in Clarke’s aching moans, feel it in her writhing hips. Lexa had to place a firm hand on Clarke’s lower belly to keep the datapad from flying off. 

Clarke felt Lexa’s hand just above her hip bone and jerked her pelvis forward toward the Sith. She couldn’t believe how swiftly things were moving. But more she couldn’t believe that the fast pace was not quick enough to sate her need. She never had a lover before. She’d never known the feeling that fiery kisses and skilled hands could ignite inside her loins. Lexa could have done anything she’d wanted to her and Clarke would have been a willing participant. 

But everything came to a halt when Lexa heard the guard say, “Inform us immediately if anyone tries to enter..”

Lexa grabbed the data pad and held it out in front of them. The sentient police force was leaving, only the droids were staying behind. 

Clarke tried to reign in her desire. It irked her that Lexa had regained control of her own faculties so effortlessly. “That’s no good. They are leaving a guard behind. We will never get out of here.”

“Sure we will,” Lexa smiled.

“You can’t use Jedi mind tricks on droids, Lexa,” Sometime the girl’s bravado showed now ends, Clarke thought.

“I don’t need to. We are on a smuggler’s ship.” 

“So?”

“So,” Lexa pushed open the door above them. “There’s always more than one way off of a smuggler’s ship. We just have to find it.”

Clarke watched Lexa as she stood from the hole and smoothed out her clothes. The old veil of darkness was already situated back in place before Clarke had time to get out of the hiding spot herself. The truth stood there between them unspoken. They weren’t going to talk about what happened, or had almost happened, between them. Clarke was chagrined but told herself it really was for the best. It had been the stress of the close confinement, the claustrophobia that had made her act in such a way. Besides she wasn’t gay. Was Lexa? But why had it felt so right? She had a million question, but the one she asked was, “Where should we start looking for this exit?”

“The cargo hold. Smugglers have to have a way to ditch stuff if they get boarded.”

“After you.” Clarke pointed to the door. 

Lexa nodded and without another look or word to Clarke, she led the way toward the cargo hold.


	12. Manipulation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Lexa pick up John Murphy's trail.

Manipulation

It hadn’t taken Lexa long to find the hidden emergency drop chute. She triggered open the airlock and away they both went down the ramp. In their haste, they’d hurried into the chute too close together. Lexa’s feet had barely hit the ground when Clarke came barrelling into her, sending them both toppling onto the landing pad, Clarke atop Lexa.   
“I’m sorry,” Clarke stammered. the nearness reminding her of their brief interlude in the cramped compartment in Finn’s quarters. Clarke ached to close her mouth over Lexa’s, to finish what they’d started. She wondered if the Sith had similar desires. If she did, Clarke couldn’t tell because the girl wouldn’t look at her. But something in the rigid set of Lexa’s jaw made Clarke think that she was willing herself not to be affected by Clarke’s body pressed against her.   
“We should get out of here,” Lexa whispered. Clarke falling on top of her had knocked the breath out of Lexa, metaphorically, not physically. Physically, she was fine, but Clarke being this close drew Lexa right back into the dark, tiny box where they’d hidden. It reminded her of the taste of Clarke’s inviting mouth and the eagerness with which the Jedi apprentice had responded to her advances. Lexa knew they couldn’t afford to be thinking about such things, they had more important things to deal with than their raging hormones.  
“Right,” Clarke tore her mind from the forbidden memories. She stood and offered Lexa a hand up but Lexa rose to her feet without taking the help.   
“I’ve been thinking, Clarke.”  
“About?”  
“The police. How did they know to come to Finn’s ship. They didn’t seem too surprised that he was dead. And they just left him there with two droids to guard him. They weren’t looking for Finn. They were after something else.”  
“You think they were after the Flame?”  
“Or the men who killed Finn for it,” Lexa nodded.  
“If they find them first—” Clarke was cut short by Lexa grabbing her elbow and pulling her   
away from Finn’s ship. They ducked beneath the ship docked next to Finn’s, a Corelliean freighter.   
“More police.” Lexa pointed from their new hiding spot.   
“But why would they come back?”  
“Probably the crew to recover the body this time. Look, they are carrying a stretcher.”  
“Do you think those Black Sun smugglers know that the security forces are on to them?’ Clarke asked.  
“I think smugglers always think the police are after them. They’ll probably try to get off planet as soon as possible but we should ask around, carefully, of course.”  
“Of course,” Clarke echoed.   
“This way,” Lexa led them away from the landing pads. They hadn’t been walking long when her spine stiffened and her head snapped up.  
“Lexa, are you okay?” Clarke watched as Lexa’s eyes went wide and she seemed to be concentrating on something Clarke couldn’t see. She followed the direction of Lexa’s gaze but the only thing there was a young Wookie pushing a luggage cart toward the lobby of a fancy hotel. When Lexa didn’t respond, Clarke begin to worry that the Sith was having a seizure of some kind. “Lexa,” she repeated.  
“They’re booking transport.”  
“Who? The smugglers?”  
Lexa nodded and as she snapped out of what Clarke now knew was a vision. “We need a speeder.”  
“They are staying on planet? Are you sure?”  
“Trust me, Clarke.” Clarke didn’t know why but she did trust the woman. “I can’t explain how but the Flame is calling to me I can feel its energy.”   
“I believe you. But we have a small problem. Credits. All of my cards will tip off the Jedi to my whereabouts. And I only have enough hard cash to buy a sandwich. Wait. If you can feel the Flame then it must be close. Why are you only feeling it now?”  
“I don’t know, Clarke. But I felt it’s odd energy and then I was able to see that boy, John Murphy, through the Force. I could read his mind. He’s booking a speeder. They are heading to the Badlands.”  
“The Badlands. Lexa we will need more than a speeder to make it through the Badlands. We’ll need extra water, food. A medpack. Blankets.” Clarke had heard legends about the Badlands. Few came out of the area alive. The Badlands made Tatooine’s Dune Sea look like a luxury resort.   
“We will get what we can from the Nightbleeder.” Lexa started for her ship.  
“Do you have enough credits to get us a speeder?” Clarke worked to keep up with the Sith’s quick stride.  
“We will steal one,” Lexa said matter-of-factly.  
“Lexa, I have my limits.”  
“So, theft is a hard limit?”   
“Yes, of course it is. Besides, we don’t need the police looking for us too.” Clarke reasoned.  
“The police won’t go into the Badlands, why do you think the smugglers are heading there?”  
“I have no idea why they are heading there. It makes no sense if you ask me.”  
“It does to me,” Lexa slowed slightly to let the blonde catch up. “They aren’t just smugglers. They are with Black Sun.”  
“So?” Clarke didn’t know what their affiliation with the galaxy’s largest crime syndicate had to do with anything.  
“So. If you were Black Sun and were going to have a base of operations on the galaxy’s most important banking planet, where would you put that base so that the police wouldn’t be in your business.’  
“Ahhhh,” Clarke answered knowing that Lexa was onto something. “You’re brilliant.” Unaccustomed to compliments, Lexa shrugged.  
“If you won’t let me steal a speeder, how do you propose we get the credits to buy one?”  
“Can’t we rent one? Didn’t you say that Murphy was booking one?”  
“That won’t work. They’ll ask for ID.”  
“Then why would the smugglers--”  
“I’m sure they have plenty of fake IDs, Clarke.” Lexa smiled at the girl’s naivety.   
“You don’t?”   
“No, actually. I could just manipulate the rental agent’s mind, I suppose.”  
“Lexa, mind manipulation should be used sparingly.” Clarke sighed. They’d finally reached the Nightbleeder and Lexa lowered the ramp and waited for Clarke to go inside first.  
“You didn’t seem to mind earlier when I used it on the cop to keep him from finding us.” Lexa called as she followed Clarke up the ramp. Clarke wished that Lexa hadn’t brought up their earlier predicament. She’d barely managed to wipe the memories of Lexa’s hand’s moving on her body as it was, she didn’t need Lexa bringing it up every five minutes.   
“We were about to be discovered. That’s different.”  
“Clarke, we don’t have time to argue about this. Unless you can come up with a better solution, we’re gonna have to steal a speeder.”  
“Dejarik.” Clarke suggested as they walked into the galley. Lexa tossed Clarke a bag and pointed to the cupboard.  
“Take whatever will keep. And what about Dejarik?”  
Clarke started stuffing food rations into the pack. “You said you’d won money playing before.”  
“That takes up too much time.”  
“We could sell something.”  
“Like what? The only thing that we have of that kind of value is our lightsabers and this ship. I’m not giving up either,” Lexa stated as she started filling two canteens. She hoped that two canteens would be enough because it was all they had.   
“Fine, we will steal a speeder,” Clarke huffed. Lexa smiled inwardly. She wondered what other hard limits she could get the Jedi to give in on. Carnal images of the blonde filled her hungry mind. She shook them off. What was she doing? She had to get away from this girl. She shouldn’t care about Clarke’s hard limits. She shouldn’t be having fantasies that could never come to fruition. Their whole partnership was absurd to begin with. Jedi and Sith could never be allies. Besides, when everything was said and done, they would still have Anya’s death between them. “Where is your med-pack?” Clarke asked bringing Lexa out of her inward thoughts.  
Pointing to a walk-in utility closet, Lexa answered, “In there, against the back wall.”   
Clarke realized her mistake when she head the closet door clang shut behind her. “Lexa!” She yelled. But it was pointless. The Sith had locked her in. With Finn dead, Clarke realized that she’d had outlived her usefulness to Lexa. She no longer needed her to ID Finn. Clarke wondered how long Lexa had been trying to ditch her. She was surprised that Lexa hadn’t killed her like she had Anya. She was even more shocked that Lexa had hooked one of the canteens onto the inside doorknob when she’d locked her in. “Lexa!” She screamed again and started pounding on the door. 

The thudding on the door drummed in Lexa’s ears as she finished packing her bag. She grabbed the utility blanket from her closet and stuffed the med-pack into her bag. When she was satisfied that she had everything that she’d need, she gave one last look to the locked closet door. She told herself she was doing the right thing. She’d take out the smugglers, get the Flame back and then drop her Jedi prisoner off in some Outer Rim world before reuniting with her master on Alamania.   
‘Kill the girl and be done with it,’ A dark voice prodded. Lexa’s hand moved to the hilt of her lightsaber. It would be easy. Clarke wouldn’t be expecting it. Lexa could open the door and run her through. Lexa inched toward the closet, torn between ending her suffering and prolonging her fantasy that she and Clarke could be something to each other. ‘Do it,’ the darkness encouraged.  
Clarke quit hammering on the door. She could feel Lexa on the other side. She didn’t speak. She wasn’t sure how, but she could feel the inner turmoil that raged inside Lexa. Clarke put her hand flat against the door. She knew how to help Lexa. Clarke pulled from the well of the Force that sat deep within her core. Her Force gift was that of peacemaking and she called on that ability and focused her energy on Lexa.   
Lexa’s shoulders relaxed and her hand fell away from her lightsaber as a feeling of intense peace spread outward from her stomach and worked its way through every cell of her body. Lexa raised her hand to the door and put it flat against the metallic surface. She knew Clarke’s hand was pressed against the door on the other side. Lexa stood there a minute just letting the warmth of Clarke’s Force skill wash over her. Lexa hadn’t felt that kind of calm peace since she was a child. It wasn’t just the warmth that radiated from Clarke. There was a light, a kind of light that wouldn’t let darkness in anywhere, it was as if she was filled with Clarke in every crevice of her being. Tears fell freely from Lexa’s eyes. Tears for her lost childhood, tears for Trikru’s plight, tears for Anya. But there were also tears of happiness, tears of hope. A new vision filled Lexa’s head. She was in Polis. She was the Commander. But she wasn’t alone. Clarke was there. She wasn’t a Jedi anymore. She didn’t wear the brown robes, her Padawan braid had been replaced by Trikru braids. She was Lexa’s and Lexa was hers. It was a promise of what could be. But the vision blurred to red and anger ripped through Lexa’s chest. The Jedi was manipulating her! How dare her lecture Lexa on mind manipulation and then turn around and use the Force on her. Just like a Jedi. Self-Righteous. Lexa growled and tore her hand away from the closet door. She’d deal with Clarke, once and for all, when she returned. First, she had to kill the smugglers and get the Flame.


	13. Chase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The race to the Flame is on.

Leksa kom Trikru was angry. Angry that Clarke had beat her to the Flame on Arkadia III, angry at Finn for having stolen the Flame from Clarke, and angry at the smugglers for killing Finn and snatching it from him. She was even angry at her master for sending her on the retrieval mission in the first place. But mostly, she was angry at herself. She hated the feelings she was having about Clarke. She let her anger pour over her. She needed it. Craved it. She needed to focus on anything but the regret she was having at leaving Clarke locked up in her utility closet. 

 

Leksa pushed harder on the hand throttle of the speeder bike that she’d stolen from outside a dive bar in Harnaidan’s red light district. Lexa had put the city well behind her, but she still hadn’t managed to put Clarke out of her head. She tore quickly through the forest that bordered the city to the east. Getting over the mountains had taken a little more effort than she’d expected on the lightweight and agile bike. The battery was nearly half depleted by the time she started making her descent down the other side of the rocky slope. She was happy to see the edge of the Badlands coming into view as the planet’s twin moons started rising over the eastern horizon, one a bright full orange ball, the other a silver crescent. The Badlands was the planet’s only desert in an otherwise lush climate. The arid air, large dry river gorges, and sandy terrain differed drastically from the green forests, golden plains, rolling hills, and wildflower laden mountains that made up the rest of the planet. The Badlands were also devoid of the volcanoes that had proved so lucrative to the rest of the planet. The rich metal deposits that were mined elsewhere were absent in the layers of sandstone that made up the the desert. It was the type of place that respectable people avoided at all costs. Which, Leksa knew, was exactly why the Black Sun smugglers ran straight for the place. 

Leksa hadn’t seen any sign of the smugglers for miles but when she crossed a dry arroyo on the desert floor, she picked up the tell-tale sign of loose earth disturbed by a speeder’s downward thrusters. The trail veered northward. Leksa banked the bike to the left and headed in that direction. But soon the arroyo gave way to desert scrub and the trail wasn’t as easily followed. Frustrated, Leksa pulled into a narrow canyon. She needed to meditate. She remembered how the Flame had called to her. She hoped if she reached out for it through the Force that the Flame would lead her right to the theives 

She cut the power to the bike and parked it in the shade of the western rock wall. After she dismounted, Leksa grabbed a food ration bar from her pack then screwed the cap off of her canteen. She took a swig of water and found a big boulder with a flat top which had shaved off cleanly from the canyon wall. The food bar was less than appetizing but it served the purpose. Her stomach was grateful for the protein and her muscles were happy for the water. Leksa sat atop the boulder and crossed her legs in a meditative fashion. She took deep cleansing breaths and tried to concentrate on the Flame. 

A dog of some sort howled in the distance welcoming the coming of night. The wind whistled down the canyon as the sun took with it the day’s warmth. Lexa could hear tiny pebbles cascading down the side of the sandstone walls, displaced by the whizzing wind. The smell of smoke from a campfire drifted in the early evening air, crinkling her nose. Leksa closed her eyes and called upon the power of the Force. Blue eyes stared at Leksa. Lifeless blue eyes. Lifeless blue eyes from a decapitated head. Costia

Leksa fought to look past the image of her slain lover. She couldn’t afford to think of Costia now. She had to get the Flame and get off of Muunilinst. Leksa squinted harder. She took deeper breaths. A voice whispered to her telling her that she was trying too hard. The key to meditation wasn’t to will it to happen but to let the Force flow easily and freely though the body. Anya had taught her that. It was Anya’s voice that she’d called to memory. Anya who’d betrayed her. Anya who’d told the Council of her relationship with Costia. They’d forbidden Leksa from going to her lover’s side when she’d needed her. It was their fault that Costia was dead. Anya’s fault. Costia’s blue eyes smiled at her. Alive. Full of love. Full of passion. Leksa’s heart lurched. She’d known what it was like to be loved. She’d felt it’s power, it’s warmth like golden honey in her soul. But she’d vowed to never let it touch her again. It hurt too much when it was taken away. And, it was a distraction. But mostly it was a weakness that your enemies could exploit. Leksa couldn’t afford to make that mistake again. Leksa licked her lips and inhaled sharply, feeling the cool air expand her lungs down into her alveoli. She needed to clear her mind, empty her vessel of the pain of yesterday. She breathed out the past and waited for the clarity of the present. But even the present wasn’t clear. Instead, images of another set of blue eyes danced before her. A white smile behind pink lips. The taste of those trembling lips had sparked forgotten desires. The feel of that sweet body pressed against her, seeking, begging to be touched. The faint floral scent that lived in the baby soft blonde hairs of Clarke’s graceful neck. The trusting eyes that had willingly walked into the utility closet. Leksa shook her head. She opened her eyes. Meditation was failing her. She decided to fall back on her natural senses. She could still smell a campfire burning nearby. Chances were decent that it belonged to the smugglers. 

Leksa steered the speeder out of the canyon and up over the rise of the flat topped ridge. Bringing the bike down to an idle, she pulled out her macrobinoculars and scanned the landscape for any signs of fire. She found it in the form of wispy grey tendrils wafting out of the canyon to the northeast. When she lowered the macrobinoculars, she could just barely see the smoke. She knew they still had a few miles on her. She’d ride the bike as far as she could take it without the sound alerting the men to her presence. Restless energy poured over her as she slammed the throttle into full forward position. 

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Clarke was furious! But she couldn’t waste her precious energy on brooding over her situation. Lexa had imprisoned her. Abandoned her. Well, she would show the Sith that she wasn’t someone to be dismissed so lightly. A couple of solid kicks at the door told her that it was going to require more than brute strength to get the door open. Clarke unclipped her lightsaber from her utility belt and tried to scour a hole in the metal wall. It only served to leave a brown burn mark on the polished silver surface. It would take hours to get the blade through the thick metal. Clarke let out a keening wail of frustration. She’d been so stupid to have trusted a Sith. But she’d thought she’d seen something in those green eyes. Something hopeful. Something clean and honest. Now she knew that Lexa had fooled her the same way she’d fooled Anya. She’d betrayed them both, it was a lesson that Clarke vowed to never forget. And to think, she’d abandoned the Jedi to follow Lexa halfway across the galaxy. No, she reminded herself. She hadn’t been following Lexa. She’d been chasing the Flame. It was the Flame that had forced her to deceive the Jedi, not Lexa. She had to get to the AI chip before Lexa did. But first she had to get out of the closet. 

Clarke remembered how she’d watched Lexa move the rug in Finn’s ship with her mind. She’d seen few Jedi masters move objects so freely with their minds. Personally, she hadn’t had any lessons in telekinesis but she was running out of options. Clarke hung her lightsaber back on her belt and dropped down onto the closet floor and reached fot the Force inside her. She focused her vision directly onto the slim crevice between the door and the wall where she knew the locking mechanism rested. Telekinesis was more difficult than telepathy. The Force flowed through all living things, a skilled Jedi needed only to tap into the Force signature of the individual they wanted to probe or manipulate. Inanimate objects were much more difficult to get a grasp on because they didn’t radiate any Force signature. Instead of having midichlorians to focus on, non-living objects only had dead matter to zone in on. Clarke searched hard with the Force to find the weakest point of the lock. After a few minutes, she’d found something she thought she could work with. Mustering all the Force strength that she could, she pictured the individual atoms of the lock. Her hand waved subtly off its own volition. Clarke was shocked when she heard the click of the lock disengage and saw the door slide open. 

She was free! But she couldn’t move. Disengaging the lock took every ounce of concentration and energy that she’d had. Clarke had never felt so exhausted. She couldn’t even raise her arms. It was all she could do to remain sitting up. Her eyes closed just seconds before she realized that she was going to black out. 

Anya was there, her hair was down and flowing freely over her slender shoulders. But she was younger, much younger than Clarke had seen her. Clarke’s heart sped up. She realized that was dead. She’d killed herself while unlatching the door. She’d died from pure exertion. Anya was talking. Clarke had to concentrate on Anya’s lips. She couldn’t hear her. Why couldn’t she hear her? She wasn’t talking to Clarke. She was talking to someone else. Someone standing beside Clarke. Clarke twisted her neck to see who Anya was talking to. The perfect jawline was clenched, the plump lips fought hard not to tremble, the green eyes burned with fury. No, not fury, pain. Grief. Loss. A tear threatened to spill from the left lower eyelid. Clarke realized that she wasn’t dead. She was dreaming. She’d passed out. She couldn’t afford to pass out. She had to hurry. She had to find Lexa. But she could see Lexa standing there in front of her, years younger. Softer. Anya turned and walked away leaving Lexa standing there in the forest. Clarke looked around the wilderness. She realized they were on Arkadia III. But no, she reminded herself. She wasn’t in this dream. She was on Muunilinst, she needed to wake up. But she couldn’t. Something else pulled at her. Lexa was hurting. She wanted to fix it. Why did she want to fix it? Lexa had betrayed her. Why should she care that the girl was hurting? But she did. She moved toward Lexa. But Lexa didn’t see her. Couldn’t see her. Clarke ached to touch the dream Lexa. Finally, the tears spilled. Lexa sunk to the ground and sat curled up on herself, hugging her knees. Clarke crouched down next to her. A deer bolted from the forest. A mutated deer. Clarke remembered the deer, but they’d already helped the animal. They weren’t on Arkadia III. Why was she finding it so hard to let go of the dream. Clarke took the dream Lexa into her arms, trying to comfort the young Jedi. It was then that Clarke realized that it wasn’t a dream that she was seeing, it was a memory. But how? It wasn’t her memory. Just as dream Lexa fell into her arms, Clarke regained consciousness. 

Clarke looked around the closet. She had the distinct feeling that she wasn’t alone. But there was no one there. She managed to get to her feet. Cautiously, she held her hand near her lightsaber as she peeked her head out of the closet door. Still no one there. And then suddenly, the feeling of being watched was gone. Clarke relaxed and took a steadying breath. She had to get moving. Hastily, she added a few more supplies to her pack before leaving the Nightbleeder behind her. 

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

It didn’t take Clarke long to find a speeder. A souped up swoop bike was parked in the valet section at a high class restaurant. Clarke couldn’t believe how much she’d let her personal moral code slip when she manipulated the valet’s mind long enough for her to steal the keys for the bike. The sun disappeared behind the city skyline as Clarke pressed the turbo boost button on the bike and left Harnaidan in her dust. 

Clarke blew through the forest and skimmed right over the mountains. The swoop bike was built for speed, She realized that she’d probably stolen someone’s race bike but she couldn’t be bothered to worry about it. The twin moons hung above the desert, casting an orange glow across the sand and scrub. Looking out across the vastness, Clarke wasn’t sure how she was ever going to find Lexa in the wasteland. She fell back on the one thing she knew she could always rely on. The Force. Clarke powered the bike down, closed her eyes, and searched through the Force. The desert surprisingly teemed with life. Clarke could feel the lizards, scorpions, and snakes that made the harsh landscape home. If she focused more deeply she could sense the saturated cells of the various succulents that thrived in the desert environ. But she wasn’t looking for cacti and reptiles. She was looking for another kind of snake. A Sith. Clarke felt a prick along her spine and heard a warning in her head. She shouldn’t be using the Force in frustration. Anger was a path to the Dark Side. She needed to let her resentment toward Lexa go or it would fester into hatred which was not the way of the Jedi. Clarke remembered the look of anguish on Lexa’s young face in the vision she’d had in the closet. What could have caused the girl such pain? Was it that pain that had allowed her to be seduced to the Dark Side? Had the Dark Lord used that pain to spawn hatred of the Jedi in the girl’s heart? Clarke shook her head. Those were things she’d deal with after she found Lexa. First, she needed to get to the girl. Wait! Why was she thinking about Lexa? It wasn’t Lexa that she needed to be looking for. It was the Flame. She needed to beat Lexa to the Flame. It was the boy, John Murphy, and the other Black Sun smuggler she needed to be looking for. Not Lexa. Not the Sith. Clarke tried to recall the image of the boy she’d seen on the datapad in Finn’s ship. But thinking about Finn’s ship brought to mind another memory. Lexa’s hand on her lower belly, her lips parting, the feel of her weight against her. No! John Murphy, the dark-skinned man, the Flame. Clarke forced herself to concentrate. She furrowed her brow. She clenched her fists. She sought the Force again. This time, she was rewarded. She felt life in the Force, large and sentient, two Force signatures. Clarke pressed the bike’s accelerator and had to fight to control the thing as it bolted off across the desert. 

 

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Master Lincoln stood with Masters Indra and Sinclair in the throne room at Polis. They’d been summoned by Chancellor Jaha. The Mountain Men’s missile had devastated TonDC and the precarious peace had blown up with it. War raged across the planet. Trikru and Azgeda guerillas attacked Polis and Skaikru camps that had built up around the capital. They also killed on sight any Mountain Men they saw lurking in their woods. Azgeda waged war against Trikru along their borders and also molested any Skaikru that hunted near their territory. The Mountain men hadn’t released any more missiles for fear that the Republic would retaliate against them. And they claimed that the launch of the missile hadn’t come from official channels in the first place. The Jedi had been tasked with trying to restore the peace and, as such, were currently trying to negotiate terms between the Mountain Men and Skaikru, which only made Trikru and Azgeda nervous that the other two factions would organize against them, which only intensified the fighting. Lincoln weighed all of this in his mind as he waited for the Chancellor.

When Jaha finally entered, he was accompanied by two security officials and Marcus Kane. The older of the two guards, a dark-hair male, eyed the Jedi with suspicioun but smiled warmly at the blue-eyed Jedi Apprentice Octavia, who he knew to be his sister. The other guard, a young blonde woman whose name badge read Harper, stood patiently at Kane’s side.

Octavia looked down at the male guard’s uniform then up to his grinning eyes. She realized instantly that the boy was her brother. She searched through her memory banks and could recall him as a fierce protector from her youth. Bellamy. His name was Bellamy. Octavia returned his smile but her attention was pulled into the conversation when Master Lincoln spoke. 

“What do you mean she left with the Sith?” Lincoln asked.

“That’s impossible,” Indra chimed in.

“I’m afraid it’s not. We found this security footage. They were walking together in the spaceport.” Marcus tilted his datapad around so that the Jedi Masters could see it clearly. “It looks like they may have even hacked into the spaceport computers. We believe they were looking for the smuggler, Finn Collins.”

Raven’s ears perked up when she’d heard that Clarke hacked into the spaceport, but her mind went on red alert when Finn’s name was mentioned. 

Lincoln looked at the datapad in frustration. Clarke had been missing for days now, but he never dreamed that she was with the Sith. At least not willingly. “There has to be a good explanation.”

“Well, whatever it is, the Harnaidan police would like you to fill them in,” Kane added.

“Harnaidan? As in Muunilinst?” Sinclair asked.

“That’s right,” Kane answered. “Collins’ body was found on his ship. Murdered by two Black Sun operatives according to security cameras. But guess who else they caught on the security feed.”

“Clarke,” Lincoln sighed.

“And the Sith.” Kane added.

“Lexa,” Indra spoke up. “Her name is Lexa.”

“Right,” Kane nodded. “Anyway, the Harnaidan police want to talk to them to see if they know anything about the murder.”

“Could you excuse me, please,” Raven managed to choke out as she rushed out of the room.

“I’ll go to her,” Octavia offered.

“You’ll stay right here, Apprentice,” Indra ordered.

Octavia seethed but she did as directed. 

“I’ll talk to her,” Bellamy looked to Kane for approval before leaving his post. 

Kane nodded his ascent to Bellamy before turning back to Lincoln. “If I were you, I’d find her before Harnaidan’s security forces.”

“I thought you said they just want to talk to them.”

“I did. But I don’t trust it. They have the murderers on video. So why are they looking for the girls? They know they didn’t kill him.”

“Right,” Lincoln agreed.

“The girls were looking for Finn, which means they were probably looking for something in his possession. Probably whatever got him killed.”

“And you think the police are more interested in the merchandise than the girls.” Indra added.

“I do. And, I think the girls are disposable.” Kane winced.

“We have to go after them,” Sinclair spoke up.

“We can’t,” Lincoln shook his head. “We have our orders from the Council. We are in the middle of a war. They will never approve of us abandoning our duties to search for a rogue Jedi Apprentice or get involved in a local police affair in Harnaidan.”

Sinclair looked to the door as Bellamy and Raven came back in. He was glad to see that his apprentice had gained control over her emotions. “Then we send our apprentices,” Sinclair suggested. “We can’t leave here but we can send Octavia and Raven. When they find Clarke, they can contact us and we will decide how to proceed.”

“Agreed,” Indra nodded. 

“Bellamy and Harper will accompany them.” Kane offered.

“Are you sure you can spare them?” Lincoln asked. 

Kane knew that he couldn’t really afford to lose them, especially Bellamy, but he’d promised Abby he’d do everything to get Clarke back which was how he’d found the security tape in the first place. Now that he had a lead, he couldn’t just let it slip away. 

“We need Clarke back. Her peacemaking skills are what brought you to Arkadia III in the first place, right?”

The Jedi nodded. 

“Well then, it seems expedient we that bring her back as quickly as possible. Doesn’t it?”

“I does so,” Bellamy answered. He wasn’t really all that concerned about some rogue Jedi but he was looking forward to getting to spend some time with his little sister who he hadn’t seen in years. And the other Jedi apprentice, Raven, wasn’t too hard on the eyes. 

Jaha offered the expedition the use of the Chancellor’s yacht. It took them the rest of the afternoon to outfit the ship and get together a skeleton crew. When Raven reached the landing pad she found two men standing at the ramp. The tall lanky boy eyed both her and Octavia appreciatively. Raven rolled her eyes and extended her hand to the shorter boy.   
“Hi, I’m Raven, You flying this thing?”

“Monty, and no, Jasper’s the pilot. I’m the navigator.”

“Well, pleasure to meet you Monty.”

“Likewise,” Monty shook her hand.

Jasper cleared his throat. As if Raven didn’t see him standing there.

“Yeah, I see you Jasper. Good to know you.” Raven disappeared up the ramp. 

Thirty minutes later as they were gearing up for take-off. Lincoln came rushing up to the ship waving his arms. He was accompanied by a woman in her early twenties. 

Monty lowered the ramp and everyone moved into the landing foyer to see why Lincoln was stopping them. 

Bellamy who hadn’t even had any time to talk to Octavia, since they had all been getting situated in their personal quarters, was disappointed. He hoped the Jedi weren’t calling off the mission. He eyed Lincoln and the girl warily. 

“This is Luna, she’ll be coming with you,” Lincoln introduced the girl.

“I’m not sure what good you think I can do,” Luna pierced Lincoln with an annoyed stare.

“Just do it. For Anya.” Lincoln said.

“Anya’s dead. Can’t do anything for her anymore.”

“Then do it for Lexa.” 

“It’s always Lexa, isn’t it?”

 

“Do it for Peace then,” Lincoln urged.

“I’m not sure these people know anything of Peace,” Luna protested but pushed past them all and into the ship. Ten minutes later, they were airborne. 

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Clarke found it a difficult task to handle the bouncing bike and stay focused on the Force signatures she was trailing. But she’d managed until the canyon that she’d flown into started to narrow. Then, she had to give all of her concentration to keeping the swoop bike from careening into the jagged rock walls. 

Leksa heard the roaring engine of the swoop before she saw it. She’d already dismounted and shut down her own speeder bike. She was creeping along the rim of the canyon looking for the men’s camp. She didn’t even need her macrobinoculars to spot the bike, the single headlight glared in the darkness. She wondered if the men already had a buyer for the Flame. She grabbed her binoculars and trained them on the rider. The Trikru braids hadn’t held up against the extreme speed of the swoop bike. Clarke’s blonde hair flew in the wind behind her. What was she doing? She was going to sail right into camp? Did this girl no nothing of stealth? What was her plan? To just fly in and demand the Flame? Did she really think that was going to work? 

Frustrated, Leksa looked back to where she’d left her bike. It was a least a half-mile away. It would take her at least three minutes to run back to it and then she’d have to catch up with Clarke who was clipping along at about 100 miles an hour. She’d probably be on top of the smugglers before Leksa had time to catch her. Out of options, Leksa sprinted further up the rim. But when she heard blaster fire ricochet off the canyon wall, she knew she’d never make it in time. The smugglers had spotted Clarke. Then there was an explosion. A great fireball lifted up from the canyon. Leksa could smell the fuel and knew there was only one explanation. The swoop bike had crashed and exploded. Leksa’s heart sunk. Not again. She couldn’t look at lifeless blue eyes again. “No,” she cried and ran harder.


	14. Burning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raven and Luna have a talk, Lexa fears the worst.

They'd been in flight for six hours before Raven ventured out of the room that she'd been assigned  
aboard the chancellor's yacht. As she passed Bellamy Blake in the corridor, she kept her face averted. She  
knew her eyes were still puffy and her nose still red from mourning Finn.

"Hey Raven," Bellamy greeted.

"Hey," she returned but kept walking toward the galley.

It was late and she was hoping that everyone else had already eaten. She didn't feel like company. But the  
galley wasn't empty. Luna, the Arkadian girl was there. Raven had done her research in Arkadia III's politics  
before she'd left the Jedi temple. She was familiar with the major factions, Trikru, Azgeda, Skaikru, and the  
Mountain Men but she hadn't studied the outlier groups in much detail. Raven recalled Indra saying  
something about a group of Trikru defectors who'd moved to the southern ocean. They called themselves  
Flokru and Luna, Raven knew, was there leader.

Luna sat at one of the smaller booths upholstered in smooth Bantha leather. The unkempt Grounder  
looked out of place in the posh, sterile environment. Her thick curly hair hung over her shoulders as she  
sipped at a hot beverage.

Luna looked up at Raven. "I just brewed a fresh pot of caf, help yourself. It's cold out here, need to stay  
warm."

Raven hadn't been looking for conversation but she wasn't going to be outright rude either. "Yeah, space  
can be cold but you get used to it."

"I'm not sure I ever could." Luna took another sip of her brew.

"It's really warm where you live, right?" Raven asked.

"It is. And damp. It feels so dry in here."

“It’s the chemicals in the air scrubbers, they really dry things out.” Raven poured herself a cup and mixed  
in a little sweetener. She picked up a granola bar and a strip of jerky. She considered taking the food back  
to her quarters but something drew her closer to Luna. "Do you mind?" She asked, pointing to the empty  
booth bench across from Luna.

"I'd prefer the company. I'm used to communal living. The quiet of my quarters was driving me mad. At  
least in here even if there's no one to talk to, I can hear the hum the refrigerator."

“How many people in your commune?”

“There are fifty-six of us.”

“You didn’t want to leave.” Raven tore into the jerky package and offered to share with Luna. Luna  
waved off the meat.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Do you have family?”

“All of Floudonkru are my family,” Luna answered.

“Of course, I just meant—“

“You meant in the nuclear sense. And the answer is no. I have a niron, lover. But we don’t have any  
children. I’m not interested in bringing anyone into the world to suffer.”

“I feel you there.” Raven lifted her cup up in a cheers gesture. Luna just looked at her oddly.

“As a Jedi, you don’t have family either, right?”

“I suppose you could say that. Though, I feel as if my cohort are my brothers and sisters.” Raven  
considered telling Luna about Finn but some things were too close to the heart to be shared.

“I remember when you all were taken.” Luna looked off across the room and Raven could tell she was  
remembering the scene. “The Jedi took few older Arkadians but they took almost all of the Force  
sensitive children.”

“I’d heard they took them all.”

“That’s what they wanted everyone to believe, of course.” Luna shook her head and looked back at  
Raven.

“Oooh, you’re Force sensitive aren’t you?” Raven asked. “Why weren’t you taken to the Temple?”

“How much do you know about Grounder religious beliefs?” Luna leaned forward subtly.

“Just the basics, why?”

“I was the oldest Nightblood. The Fleimkeepa refused to let them take all of us.”

“I don’t understand. I thought that once Arkadia was assimilated into the Republic the old religion died  
out.”

“There were always those who tried to keep our ways, our beliefs alive, no matter the cost. Titus our old  
Fleimkeepa was one of them. He’d wanted to keep Lexa, she was just a toddler, but the council  
overrode him and he was given me, the oldest Nightblood as his charge. I certainly disappointed him. I  
became a pacifist and had no interest in his dream to revive the old blood must have blood culture. He  
reminded me constantly that Lexa would have turned out much better than me.”

“Well, Lexa disappointed the Jedi, so I’m not sure he’d been any happier with her as his pupil.”

“Maybe.” Luna had her suspicions about where Lexa had run to when she left the Jedi but she wasn’t  
about to share them with a Jedi even if Raven was only an apprentice.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Leksa could hear one of the smugglers yelling as she scaled down the canyon wall. He was ordering the  
other man to hold his fire. “You’re going to hit one of us, John!” The black man yelled as another blaster  
bolt careened around the canyon.

“Are they alive?” John Murphy asked his companion.

“I don’t think so. And I think it’s a woman. But she doesn’t seem to be moving. If your blaster didn’t get  
her then I’m guessing the crash did.”

“Let’s just get out of here, Pike,” Murphy hopped into the driver side of the landspeeder they’d brought  
out into the Badlands.

Pike was torn between making sure the girl was dead and putting as much space between them and the  
scene as possible. “Hold on a minute.” He walked over to Clarke’s prone form and nudged her with his  
foot. She didn’t move or groan. She was completely unresponsive.

Leksa was only halfway down the canyon wall but she stopped her descent just in time to see Pike fire a  
single shot into Clarke’s back.

“There,” Pike called, “Let’s get out of here.” He jumped into the landspeeder and Murphy pushed the  
throttle forward and they whizzed out of the canyon.

Leksa knew she was too late. How could Clarke have been so stupid? Why had she flown so blindly  
straight into the hornet’s nest? Leksa let go of the rock outcropping she’d been holding and attempted a  
Force-controlled fall. It was something she’d been working on but hadn’t yet perfected. A fact of which  
she was reminded when she hit the ground and instantly turned her ankle. “Ahhh,” she cried out but  
then ignored the pain as she hobbled over to Clarke’s body.

When she reached Clarke, she froze. It was as if fear gripped her. No, not fear. But the confirmation of  
Clarke’s death stopped her. As long as she stood there not knowing, she’d be okay. But once she knew  
for certain that the apprentice was dead, then if would be final. It would be over. Leksa realized that she  
wasn’t breathing when her lungs started burning. She took a deep breath and stilled herself. She  
couldn’t freeze time no matter how much she’d like to.

The blaster bolt had left a hole in Clarke’s jacket which was still smoking. “Clarke,” Leksa called even  
though she knew it was useless. She rolled the girl over. She needed to see the blue eyes once more  
even if they’d lost the spark of life. A million things that would never be ran through Leksa’s head. She  
didn’t know she’d still harbored such hopes for love in her future. She’d thought it was something she’d  
forsaken. But as the image of her and Clarke running hand in hand in the sandy surf flitted behind her  
eyes, she realized that Clarke had made her long for things that she’d shut out of her life. Pure things.  
True things.

“Owww, Lexa, is that you?” Clarke’s eyes blinked open. Then her hand went instantly to the gash that  
ran along the right side of her forehead. “Owwww.”

“Clarke? Clarke, you’re alive!” Leksa grabbed Clarke up into her arms and held her tightly, rocking her.  
“You’re alive.”

“Owww,” Clarke yelped again in pain. “My back, my head.”

“Here, here, let me take a look.” Leksa examined the wound on Clarke’s forehead. The gash ran right  
along the hairline and was bleeding profusely. Lexa ripped off a strip from her red sash and pressed it  
firmly to Clarke’s forehead. “I can stitch that but I need to look at your back. That blaster bolt should’ve  
done you in. Let me take your jacket off.”

It hurt Clarke to move. She grunted at the slightest jostle. Together they managed to slip Clarke’s left  
arm free of the leather jacket. Carefully, Lexa peeled it off her back. The red hot blaster bolt had fused  
the jacket material with the fabric from Clarke’s shirt and something else that Leksa could not see  
because Clarke’s shirt was in the way. Clarke cried out again as Leksa tried to pull the clothes apart.

“Well, that’s no good. Clarke, I need to get this off of you.”

“Hurts,” Clarke grumbled.

“I know, I need to look at the wound.”

“Burns.”

Leksa feared the worst. That the bolt had caused internal, irreparable damage.

“Stay with me, okay.” Leksa encouraged.

“Lexa?”

“Hmm?” Leksa reached for the knife she wore at her belt. She knew there was only one way to remove  
the garments without causing Clarke needless discomfort.

“Did you get the Flame?”

The Flame. She’d forgotten all about the Flame. It had been there with the smugglers, within her grasp.  
But instead of chasing the Black Sun operatives, she’d run to Clarke’s side. She didn’t have time to think  
about the implications. “No, not yet.”

“But they were here. I saw them.”

“And now, they are gone. But we will catch them later. Now, we have to make sure you are okay.” And  
Leksa knew that in that moment, Clarke was the only thing that mattered. Not the Sith, not the Jedi, not  
the Flame, not Arkadia, not the Commander, not Titus. Only the girl bleeding in her arms and panting in  
pain. “Hold still now.” Leksa ordered and then starting at the collar of Clarke’s shirt, she sliced the knife  
through the cotton fabric of Clarke’s shirt. Once she had cut all the way to the hem, she peeled the  
fabric off of Clarke’s skin with more tenderness than she knew she had in her. When she reached the  
middle of Clarke’s back where the blaster had been fired, she discovered why the fabrics had been fused  
together. She breathed a sigh of relief. “You’re fine. You’re gonna be okay.” Leksa wiped the sweat from  
her brow. She could finally relax. She felt her heart returning to normal rhythm and she felt like a fool  
when she realized she was grinning from ear to ear. “This is going to hurt, Clarke. The barrette that I put  
in your hair when I braided it aboard the Nightbleeder. It saved your life.”

“What?”

“It stopped the blaster bolt, but the heat from it melted the metal and it has glued your clothes together  
along with your hair. It’s stuck to your skin, that’s why you feel burning. I’m gonna try to pull it off as  
gently as I can.”

“Go ahead,” Clarke wrapped her arms firmly around Lexa’s torso to steady herself. Leksa ran her hand  
flat up under Clarke’s hair and then slowly edged it downward until she felt resistance. She gave a slight  
tug and Clarke winced, squeezing Leksa’s middle.

“I’m sorry.” Leksa let her hand rest on Clarke’s back.

“Just rip it.”

“But it’ll tear your skin.” Leksa warned.

“Can’t be helped. Better do it now why it’s still semi-hot.”

Leksa knew she was right but she also knew it was likely to be extremely painful. Her respect for Clarke  
that had been growing in the past few days edged up another notch.

“Lexa,” Clarke called.

Leksa looked down into the blue eyes, full of trepidation but also something else. Trust. Clarke trusted  
her. But how? Why? Leksa knew that it didn’t matter why. The weight of the realization was enormous.

“Clarke,” Lexa whispered. With her free hand, she lifted Clarke’s dimpled chin up and then she closed  
her mouth over Clarke’s. She pushed her bottom lip against Clarke who pushed back hungrily. She  
pressed harder, opening Clarke’s lips with her own and sliding her tongue across Clarke’s. As the kiss  
deepened, Lexa jerked her hand down Clarke’s back severing the hair, metal, and fabric from Clarke’s  
skin. Clarke cried into Lexa’s mouth and went stiff in her arms. When Lexa pulled away from Clarke’s  
lips, Clarke was trembling with both pain and desire. “You okay?”

Clarke nodded but collapsed into Lexa’s lap. Lexa held her, keeping pressure on the head wound. After a  
few minutes, Lexa heard soft snoring. She smiled and decided to let Clarke sleep. She’d definitely earned  
it. But she still needed to deal with the mass of hair, skin, fabric, and metal that was now hanging from  
the bottom of Clarke’s hair. She considered using her knife to cut it all loose but then thought of a  
quicker alternative. She thumbed on her light saber and with one flick of the wrist the mass fell from  
Clarke’s hair. With Clarke’s back fully exposed, Lexa could see the nasty red mark left behind where  
she’d ripped the garments from the skin. It would definitely need some salve. Lexa knew that the desert  
would have just the right type of plants to sooth such a wound. She would round some up shortly, she  
told herself. First, she just wanted to enjoy the feeling of Clarke alive and in her arms. She checked the  
head wound one last time to make sure it wasn’t bleeding too badly. It actually looked better than her  
first assessment and she decided that it might not need stitches after all. “You’re a mess,” Lexa  
whispered to Clarke. “Why didn’t you just stay put?”

Clarke surprised her by answering, “We are in this together.”

“So we are.” Lexa smoothed back Clarke’s hair and got comfortable against the rock wall. Within  
minutes, they were fast asleep under the desert sky.


	15. Healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some wounds heal, some wounds don't.

It was cold. Lexa shivered. Where had the warmth gone? Clarke. Clarke had been in her arms. Their kinetic energy had been keeping her warm. Where was Clarke? Lexa’s eyes snapped open. It was still dark in the deep canyon but the sky above was growing pink from the sun rising in the east. The only other light came from a small campfire that Clarke had built. Lexa studied her now as she was crouched over the fire cooking something. She’d fashioned a makeshift shirt out of the remnants of her clothes. Really, she’d just tied the sides together in creative knots to keep the garment on. She still wore the red bandage tied around her head. 

“Oh, you’re awake,” Clarke started when she turned around to find Lexa staring at her.

“Yeah,” Lexa started to stand up, “Ow, damn.” She cried when she went to put pressure on the ankle she’d turned when jumping off the canyon wall to hurry to Clarke’s side.

“You banged it up pretty good. I wrapped it for you,” Clarke nodded in the direction of Lexa’s ankle.

“I must’ve been out of it,” Lexa wasn’t sure how Clarke had managed to tend to her sprain without waking her.

“You were. And it’s swollen pretty badly, maybe broken. You need to keep it elevated.” 

Lexa realized that Clarke had not only bound the ankle but she’d propped her foot up onto their bags. “Thank you.”

“It was the least I could do. You could have left me for dead. But you stayed. Not what I expected from a Sith.”

Nor I, Lexa thought, but she just looked ahead at the canyon wall. 

“The kiss was a little much, though, don’t you think? I mean. I know you were trying to distract me from the pain and all but you didn’t have to use your tongue.”

Lexa felt a lump forming in her throat. Clarke hadn’t realized that the kiss had been sincere on her part. Sure it was meant to save Clarke some of the sting of separating the fabric from the wound but the emotion behind the kiss had been genuine. More than anything the kiss had been driven by Lexa’s relief that Clarke had survived not only the swoop bike crash but the blaster to the back. The kiss was a celebration. But apparently Clarke had been repulsed by the affection. She wanted to remind Clarke that she hadn’t seemed to mind her tongue too much when she’d kissed her aboard Finn’s ship but instead, she changed the subject. “What are you cooking?”

Clarke looked at Lexa’s majestic profile. It didn’t surprise her that Lexa was dodging the conversation about the kiss. Clarke rolled her eyes. She’d dared to let herself hope that the kiss had been more than just a distraction. There had been something in the movement of Lexa’s mouth over her own that had made her think that Lexa hungered for something more between them. She was hoping that Lexa would tell her that it hadn’t just been a distraction but that she’d wanted to kiss her. That maybe, just maybe the kiss had been real. But of course not. Even though Lexa had showed her the kindness of staying, she was still a Sith. A Sith and a murderer. “Well, I couldn’t find much. A couple of unlucky lizards, I’m afraid.”

“I’ve had worse than lizard. How’s your back feel?”

“Well, I hurt all over from the crash but the back hurts most when the shirt rubs against it.”

“The med kit should have a bacta patch or two. If not, I can round up some aloe. It’ll help a bit.”

“Are you healer too?” Clarke asked as she handed Lexa her share of the crispy reptile.

“Just standard field first aid.” Lexa bit into the food and found it rather juicy. “Pretty good.”

“Yeah, there’s a sage bush growing out of the canyon wall over there. Not bad for seasoning.” Clarke rifled through her backpack, careful not to disturb Lexa’s resting foot. She pulled out some dry crackers to go with their breakfast. “I’m assuming you have a speeder nearby.”

Lexa took a cracker. “It’s up on the rise. Gonna be a walk to get to it.”

“I’ll get it. You focus on healing.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Don’t argue with me. You need to give that ankle time to go down. I don’t have any ice to put on it so it’s gonna take a while.”

“First of all, you are injured too. And secondly, you wrecked the last bike. I’m not risking you crashing another speeder.”

“I wasn’t focused properly. I was trying to find the smugglers through the Force, something was throwing me, probably your Force signature, and the swoop bike was bouncing all over the place.”

“Yeah, I saw that. You’re so lucky to be alive.” Lexa shook her head and took in a deep breath. Thankful all over again that Clarke had lived.

Clarke took in the green of Lexa’s eyes. There it was again. That look. The one that Clarke had mistaken for caring on more than one occasion. Well, she wasn’t falling for that again. “Well, neither one of us is going to be alive for too long if we don’t get out of this desert, so I’m going for your bike. And you are waiting here.”

“Clarke—“

“It’s not up for negotiation, Lexa.”

“At least let me see if there is a bacta patch in the med kit so I can tend to the burn on your back before you go.”

“There isn’t a bacta patch in the kit, Lexa.”

“There should be, it’s standard.”

“I know. I used it already.” 

“But how did you get it on your back by yourself?”

“I didn’t.” Clarke looked down at Lexa’s bound ankle.

“What? You wasted a bacta patch on a sprained ankle?” Lexa fumed.

“I don’t think it is just sprained. It was purple and three times normal size before I wrapped it. My burn will hill own its own, I’m not sure you haven’t fractured it. Field triage dictated that I use the patch where it was most needed. Now, keep it elevated until I get back.” 

Lexa hadn’t realized that her fall had been that bad. She’d been so consumed with getting to Clarke, then so relieved that the girl had lived that she’d completely ignored her own pain and need for medical attention. “Thank you, Clarke. And I’m sorry.”

“You can thank me when this is over.” Clarke coolly checked that her lightsaber was fastened to her belt then headed off up the canyon. 

As Lexa watched Clarke go she realized what a fool she’d been to let herself hope. She could almost hear her master laughing at her. Lexa closed her eyes. She had to do something about her emotions. She needed to get them in check. She decided to let herself embrace them one last time before pushing them from her soul forever. She remembered the feeling of Clarke curled up in her arms. The warmth of the head laying on her shoulder. The sweet honeyed smell of the golden hair. The gentle rise and fall of Clarke’s breasts with each life sustaining breath. The push of lips against lips, the taste of sweet nectar in the mouth of the goddess. The way their bodies had moved in the darkness. The soft moans of pleasure whispered against her ear. It could all come to nothing. What was wrong with her? She thought she’d banished such weak feelings from her body! She needed to meditate! She needed to find her anger. Her hatred of the Jedi and everything they stood for. Everything Clarke stood for. But did she? Clarke wasn’t a slave to the Jedi order, not completely. She’d chosen to chase the Flame herself rather than take the matter to the Council. There was something inside Clarke then that didn’t trust them completely. Leksa knew if she could find the source of that distrust, that discontent, then she could pull Clarke over to the Dark Side. Leksa closed her eyes and focused on her hatred of the lying Jedi Order. 

She lost track of time and was brought back to the present by the humming of the speeder as Clarke rode it into view. She must’ve been in meditation mode for longer than she’d thought. The breakfast fire had burned itself out and the sky had gone from coral pink to baby blue and light airy clouds whisped lazily in the sky. Leksa gritted her teeth and set her jaw. Now that Clarke was back they needed to get a move on. She’d already wasted enough time with the girl. Her master had sent her on a simple mission and she’d bungled it over a set of blue eyes and a nice ass. 

Leksa wasn’t sure if it was the meditation or the bacta patch, but this time when she went to stand up, the pain was minimal. She looked down at the ankle. The wrapping was loose from where the swelling had gone down, leaving a bunch of excess material. 

“Don’t push it,” Clarke called as she swung her foot over the bike to dismount. “Let me check it before you put too much pressure on it.”

“It’s fine. I’m fine.” Leksa was agitated at Clarke’s concern.

“I’ll decide that for myself. Now sit back down.” Clarke ordered.

“I said I’m fine.”

“What is wrong with you? Look, we don’t know what we are going to find if we ever catch up with those smugglers again. I need you ready and able to fight. It isn’t going to help anything if you further injure yourself.”

Lexa huffed. She hated it when Clarke was right. She eased herself back down and propped the foot back up on their bags. 

“At least you got that one here intact,” Lexa pointed at the speeder.

“Yeah.” Clarke winced as the shirt scraped against the burn on her back.

Lexa looked at her and realized that Clarke was in more pain than she was letting on. “I’ll make a deal with you.”

Clarke looked up, their eyes locked. Lexa felt the pull again. The light that wouldn’t let her go. All of her meditation had apparently been for naught. Her belly still yearned for Clarke’s touch. “What kind of deal?” 

“You let me tend to your back and I will let you do whatever you want to this ankle, no more grumbling about it. You have my word.”

“The word of a Sith isn’t much currency.”

“Not the word of the Sith. The word of Leksa kom Trikru. I’m a person of honor Clarke.”

“Maybe once, but you betrayed that when you cast your lot with the Sith.”

Lexa looked down. She knew Clarke was right, and for the first time since she’d left the Jedi, she was ashamed of her decision to follow Titus. Not because she regretted leaving the Jedi. Their order was corrupt no matter what Clarke thought. But maybe the Sith were just as corrupt. Maybe the whole scheme was messed up. In some ways, she thought, Arkadia III would have been much better off without the Senate interfering. “Do you ever wonder what would’ve happened, if the Jedi had never come to our world?”

“What?”

“To me, to you? Your family? How different things might have been?” Lexa asked.

“It’s pointless to think of such things.”

“That’s the Jedi talking.”

“Maybe,” Clarke conceded.

“Do you believe them? I mean do you buy into all of it? No family. No attachment. Even though you know it to be false?” 

“Are we going to debate philosophies now?”

“Yes, but only after you let me tend to your back. You see that plant about ten meters to the right. The one sandwiched between those boulders?”

Clarke nodded.

“Go break off two generous pieces and bring them to me.”

As Lexa watched her work. She knew her days with the Sith were numbered. Even if Clarke never wanted her, the girl had awoken something within her. A volcano of light that had lain dormant inside of her heart had erupted with one look into Clarke’s eyes. She’d been kidding herself that she could meditate it away. 

“Here,” Clarke handed Lexa the fronds.

“Take your shirt off, Clarke.” Lexa patted the space in front of her, “Let me see your burn.”

Clarke plopped down in front of Lexa and slowly tried to peel her shirt off without scrapping the sensitive skin around the wound. She was unsuccessful. She cried out.  
“Here, let me help you.” Lexa ran her hands up gently under the shirt and pulled it away from the tender skin and lifted it over Clarke’s shoulders. The center of the mark was black and already scabbing. But the bulk of the burn was red and blistery. It stood in sharp contrast to the milk-white smoothness of Clarke’s slender back. Lexa split open one of the aloe fronds and started working the gooey center onto her fingertips. “This will probably feel pretty cold against this burn.” 

Lexa was right. The gel felt like ice pressed against the hot swollen skin. Clarke flinched at first but then it felt amazingly soothing, as did Lexa’s hands on her back. Her long slender finger worked with the greatest of care around the ring of the wound while she laid her other hand open and flat against Clarke’s shoulder blade. Clarke marveled at how someone so deadly could be so gentle and show such compassion. She wondered what it would be like to be under those hands sexually. Clarke gasped at her own thoughts.

“Did I hurt you?” Lexa had tried so hard to be as ginger as possible around the sore but Clarke’s gasp made her think that she’d somehow hurt the girl.

“No, no, it’s good. It’s amazing actually. How did you know?”

“Anya. She and I were on a mission once on a desert world not much different than this one. I was young and edging for a fight, I got winged with a blaster. She treated it like this.”

“You’re right,” Clarke looked back over her shoulder at Lexa. “I don’t agree with everything about the Order. Especially about feelings and attachment. I loved Anya. I loved her like an older sister. But she never got over losing you. I was jealous of you for a while but I learned to deal with it. I know she cared for me, but she was cold and distant at times.”

“That was my fault.”

“I’m not sure it was. I think it might have been the fault inherent in the Jedi teachings. Humans have feelings. Is it right to deny that?”

Lexa’s mind was screaming, ‘No!’ She wanted to tell Clarke just how much she was feeling for her. But she knew it wasn’t the proper time. Clarke was grieving Anya and Anya’s death was on Lexa. “I loved her too.” A single tear fell down Lexa’s face. Clarke turned the rest of her body around. “I – I,” Lexa couldn’t get the words out. 

“I want to forgive you. I know it’s what she would want. I just don’t know how.”

“Me either,” Lexa wiped her cheek dry.

“Maybe we will figure it out together,” Clarke said and pulled her shirt back on. “Now let me look at that ankle.”


	16. Shifting Sands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Lexa continue their search for Pike and Murphy. Raven and kru make it to Muunilinst.

Titus paced the marbled floor of his villa in Alamania. His apprentice, the one he’d gambled everything on, had gone rogue on him. He’d finally quit trying to reach her by communicator after two days of radio silence. He’d tried to reach out to her with the Force but there was something shielding her from him. When she’d first left for Arkadia III, he’d been able to sense her quite well. All he had to do was focus on her mission, her pain, her anger. Now, he could only get a vague sense of her location but not enough pinpoint accuracy to try any type of telepathy. He feared that she was losing focus. He knew she was on Muunilinst, but why, he had no idea. Titus had never been accused of being a patient man and when he felt like a well-laid plan was unraveling, what little patience he could muster went straight out the window. He considered heading to Muunilinst himself to find out what had taken her there. Ultimately, he decided that it was more important to go to Arkadia III. Just in case Lexa failed him, It was time to consider implementing his backup plan. 

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

The deeper they rode into the Badlands, the hotter and dryer the air got. The ground whizzing by below them was a flat expanse of loose sand.. Lexa had taken the helm and was pushing the speeder to its limits. She ignored her throbbing ankle and instead focused on the pleasant feeling of Clarke’s arms wrapped around her middle. Clarke leaned forward but still had to yell to be heard over the whining of the bike’s engine. “Are you sure this is the right way?”

“I’m listening to my senses but I have been wrong before. Why? Are you picking up something else?”

“No, it isn’t that. It’s just that it’s pretty desolate out here. I can see miles in each direction and don’t see anywhere for them to have a hideout. How’s the battery on this thing? I don’t want to get stuck out here without any way to return to civilization.”

“We always have our feet.” 

“Right.” Clarke answered, but the prospect of hoofing out of the desert was not at all appealing to her. Although for reasons she didn’t want to examine, the thought of having the opportunity to spend more time with Lexa was tantalizing. She shook the thought off. 

Lexa let off the throttle and the bike started slowing. The engine quietened. “Did you see that?”

“What?” Clarke asked.

“Not sure. Movement. Over there.”

Clarke look to where Lexa pointed but she didn’t see anything. Great! the last thing she needed was for the Sith to start imagining things. Clarke ran her hand up to feel Lexa’s forehead. She was warm.   
“What are you doing?” Lexa enjoyed Clarke’s cool touch.

“You’re hot.”

“What? Of course, I’m hot. We’ve been traveling in the desert all day.”

“No, I think you have a fever. How’s your foot?”

“It’s okay. And I don’t have a fever.”

“You do. And you could be hallucinating.” Clarke warned and looked over Lexa’s shoulder. She wanted to see the girl’s eyes. It was the only way she could ever tell if Lexa was taking her seriously. 

“I’m not hallucinating.” And Lexa’s eyes opened wide and her mouth fell open too. Clarke could see the reflection of the beast in Lexa’s eyes and knew that Lexa wasn’t hallucinating at all. “Sand snake!” Lexa screamed. “Hold on, Clarke!”

The giant beast reared it’s tan scaly head, towering ten feet above the women. It was poised to strike.

Clarke hugged Lexa tightly and squeezed her thighs hard against the body of the bike to keep from falling off as Lexa threw the speeder in full reverse. Lexa barely managed to get them out of the snake’s reach but she did. She banked the bike northward but the snake gave chase. “What in the actual hell? Clarke screamed.

“Sand snake.”

“Poisonous?”

“Doesn’t have to be. Devours you whole and takes you days to digest.” Lexa answered.

“Great!” Clarke looked back over her shoulder. The snake was gaining on them. But then suddenly it just disappeared into the sand. “Lexa, it’s gone. I think we are going to be okay. It just . . . vanished.”

“No!”

“What do you mean, no?”

“Sand snakes gain speed in the sand. They can zip right through the stuff! Get your lightsaber ready.”

Clarke unclipped the hilt of the saber and held it firmly in her left hand. 

“Listen to me. The scales, they are strong, strong enough that a lightsaber won’t penetrate with one cut. You are going to have to go for the mouth interior. Wait for it to descend on us and push the blade straight through the roof of the mouth.”

“Wait, what are you talking about?”

“If I can’t outrun it. If it catches up with us that will be our only hope.”

“I see it. I see him. He’s close. Lexa he’s on top of us.”

“Clarke, ignite your blade. When it bursts from the sand, be ready.”

Lexa eased off the throttle.

“Lexa what are you doing?” Clarke asked but then heard Lexa power up her own lightsaber. 

“We’re just gonna let this thing eat us?” 

“The speeder isn’t fast enough. Unless you’ve got a better plan!”

But there was no time left. The serpent erupted from the earth, spraying them with hot, gritty sand. Clarke got more than a mouthful and blinked grains out of her eyes. The beast’s giant maw fell over them blocking out the sun. Their lightsabers burned red and blue as they each thrust their blades upward. Clarke’s right arm was still wrapped tightly around Lexa’s waist. 

Lexa whispered into Clarke’s ear. “It’s okay, Clarke. Oso gonplei nou ste odon.” Clarke wasn’t proficient in Grounder language but she knew the phrase and she hoped Lexa was right that their fight was not over but she wasn’t as confident as the snake’s forked tongue lashed at them. 

The bike crashed to the ground below them.and the were forced into the sand. Clarke nearly panicked when she realized what was happening. The monster was taking them beneath the sands. They would suffocate! Clarke took a deep breath while they were still in the cavern of the beast’s mouth. She feared once they were fully under the earth it would be too late. But the beast gave a keening moan. One of their blades had made it through the soft tissue and reached the brain. The serpent shuddered and collapsed sending both women flying hard against the wall of the mouth. 

Lexa cried out in pain. Her ankle! “You okay?” Clarke asked and pulled her blade from the roof of the mouth to use as a light. Lexa’s beautiful face was twisted in a grimace. But she looked determined. Sexy, but determined. 

“Clarke, start cutting. We have to cut our way out of this thing. And be careful. I’m not sure how deep this thing has buried us. If sand starts pouring in, we will have to cut in a different area.”

“Let me look at your ankle first.” Clarke tried to move toward Lexa.

“We don’t have much oxygen, Clarke. We have to get out of here first.”

“Right.” And they both started hacking away. 

Ten minutes later, they were covered in blood, saliva, and snake snot but they were breathing fresh desert air. Clarke climbed out of the hole in the snake’s head first and then extended her hand down into the opening to pull Lexa up. When they were both free, Clarke threw her arms around Lexa. “We did it! Oh my God. We did it.”

Lexa joyed in the feeling of Clarke holding her. “Yes. We did.”

“Oh no!” Clarke cried.

“What?” Lexa feared there was another serpent. She didn’t know if they could survive two in one day!

“The bike.” Clarke looked at the speeder which was now nothing more than a crumpled heap of metal. 

“Our feet it is, then.” Lexa fell back on the earth and looked at the clear blue sky. Clarke fell back next to her.

“We have shit for luck. You know that right?”

“I’ve never believed in luck.” But as she looked over at Clarke laying next to her, Lexa was beginning to believe in luck and from where she was sitting, she thought her luck was pretty damn good. 

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

When the Chancellor’s yacht touched down on the landing pad, Bellamy called a meeting in the entry hall. Jasper was the last of the crew to arrive. Raven rolled her eyes at his flight goggles. He hadn’t exactly been flying outdoors. Bellamy handed out maps.

“It’s a big planet but at least we know they were here in Harnaidan. So, that narrows our search down a little bit. Jasper, you and Monty will search the city. Try not to get tangled up with the local authorities. Octavia, you will come with me to the Highlands. That leaves you two”. He looked at Raven and Luna. “I need you to head out to the Badlands.”  
“Wait. Why don’t I get to go to the Badlands?” Octavia asked. 

“Because we are going in pairs. And, you are coming with me.” Bellamy answered.

“And who left you in charge exactly?” Octavia sneered. 

Bellamy shrugged. “You want the Badlands? We will take the Badlands. Everyone okay with that?”

“Jasper and I will start with the local cantinas.” Monty nodded.

“Sweet.” Jasper smiled.

“And I’m good with the Highlands,” Raven looked to Luna. “How’s your hiking, Seagirl?”

“I can keep up with you, space cadet.” Luna quipped.

“Great. Let’s get going.” Bellamy grabbed his pack and led them out of the ship.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Darkness fell and it carried bitter cool winds. They’d taken off on foot after they’d rigged together a cane for Lexa to lean on from speeder bike parts. It was hard to gauge how many miles they’d walked in the barren land but just before the sun started setting a mountain range became visible on the eastern horizon, but it was still hours, possibly days away, on foot. They had no choice but to make camp for the night and hope they didn’t encounter any more sand snakes. There was no fuel to make a fire, so supper consisted of their remaining dry rations. They were down to one water skin but at least it was nearly full. 

“Let me have a look at that foot,” Clarke said as she tightened the cap back onto the water canteen. 

“It’s fine. Really.” Lexa didn’t want Clarke making a fuss over her injury. The ankle really did feel a world better even though she’d been forced to put pressure on it a couple of times to make it over a sand dune. 

“Just let me look.”

“You’re stubborn.” Lexa huffed but pulled up her pant’s leg anyway. 

Clarke tenderly unwrapped the foot and felt along the joint. She pulled the bacta patch back to discover that the swelling was nearly gone and the purple bruising had already turned yellowish. “Bacta really is amazing. I was sure it was broken.”  
“Like I said, it feels much better. Your burn is probably much worse. Let me put some more aloe on it.”

Clarke was really glad that they’d decided to take some extra aloe with them as the cool goo touched her blistered back. Lexa’s deft fingers worked carefully around the wound. When she’d finished applying the natural salve, she helped Clarke pull her shirt back over her skin to avoid grazing the sore. 

“Thank you,” Clarke smiled when she turned and their eyes met. 

“Welcome.” Lexa brushed Clarke’s hair away from the gash in her forehead. The red bandage had come off sometime during the snake attack but Lexa was relieved to see that the slash was already healing well on its own. It wouldn’t even leave a scar but the scabbing was going to be fairly prominent for the next few days. “This looks good, too. You were lucky.”

“Thought you didn’t believe in luck.”

“We should try to get some shut eye.” Lexa pulled the emergency blanket from her pack and wrapped it around her.

Clarke took her own blanket and did the same. But the wind was too cold to sleep. “I’d give my eye teeth for a hot cup of cafe right now.”

“I hear you.” Lexa said and edged closer to Clarke.

“What’s your favorite?” Clarke asked.

“Hmmm, I like dark roast, anything with a nutty flavor. You?”

“Sweet.”

“Really? I would’ve pegged you for bold.” Lexa said.

“Bold and sweet. I like complex things.” It was quiet for a minute and then Clarke added, “like you.” She looked up to see Lexa looking down at her mouth like she was going to devour her. But Lexa hesitated. 

“What makes you say that I’m complex? I thought you had me all figured out. Sith. Bad guy. All that.”

“But then you do things contrary to the Sith ways that don’t make sense to me at all.”

“And you? You’ve disobeyed the Jedi, taken off with me. Wouldn’t you say you are running contrary to the Order right now?”

“I could argue that everything I am doing is to serve the Order. To serve justice.”

“Is that how you’ve rationalized it?” Lexa leaned in. “Well, how do you rationalize this?” Lexa reached for the back of Clarke’s head and guided their mouths together. Clarke didn’t fight it. She fell into the kiss. Fell into Lexa. The cold forgotten as her body became its own furnace responding to Lexa’s hands moving over her. When Lexa reached down and cupped her breast through her shirt, Clarke stiffened.

“I’m sorry. Is this too far?” Lexa pulled her hand back.

“No,” Clarke panted. “It’s just that I’ve. . . I’ve never.”

“Been with a woman?” Lexa caressed Clarke’s cheek with her thumb.

“Been with anyone. I’m an innocent.” 

“Oh. . . oh. . .oh God,” realization dawned on Lexa. The girl was a complete virgin. Had she been misreading Clarke’s signals, feelings? “I’m sorry. I didn’t. . . “ 

“It’s okay. I’m just. Well, I’m not sure what to do with all of this. All of these feelings. I don’t. . . well, I never thought I’d be with anyone. You know the Jedi rules against romantic attachments. I never planned to have sex.”

“Right. The Jedi. I shouldn’t have made an advance.” Lexa’s stomach felt like a bantha had just walked over it. 

“No. that’s just it. I didn’t think I wanted this. But I do. I do Lexa. I know I shouldn’t, especially with a Sith. With you. But I want you hands on me. In me. But I need to take this slow.”

Hands in her! God this girl was going to drive her insane. So, Clarke wanted her but at her own pace. Lexa took a deep breath. She could do that! “You tell me what you need, Clarke. Whatever you want. That’s what we’ll do.”

“Can you hold me?”

Lexa smiled. “I can do that.”

“And kiss me. The kissing’s good.”

“Yes it is.” Lexa agreed and pulled Clarke down on top her her in the sand.


	17. Going Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Lexa make their way through the desert.

The Peace Within - Going Down

They broke camp in the pre-dawn darkness. The desert air chilled to the bone. Lexa pulled her cloak tighter around herself, tattered as it was. The cold had caused her ankle to stiffen up and the first few steps sent jolts of pain up her calf. She grimaced at the make-shift cane but decided she’d better use it at least to get the morning started. Clarke caught the wrinkled brow and wished again for another bacta patch to treat Lexa. Her own burn mark still chafed when the fabric of her top rubbed it the wrong way but otherwise she felt fine. She hoped they would have better luck finding the smuggler’s hideout today, the water canteen was feeling a little too light for her liking and they were out of food rations. She reminded herself that the noonday sun would bring for all sorts of desert critters out of their burrows to bask in the warmth, they could at least look forward to catching a couple of lizards for some protein. They sat off in the direction of the mountains in the distance. Clarke let Lexa take the lead. There was no need in pushing her past the limits that her ankle could handle. 

They had been walking a couple of hours when the loose sand gave way to harder packed ground. Clark could tell by their new pace that Lexa’s ankle was thankful for the firmer terrain. They had walked mostly in silence, neither wanted to state the grimness of their situation where water was concerned and Clarke was a little embarrassed to pick up their conversation from the previous evening. In fact, she was glad that Lexa hadn’t pressed her about her innocence. The Sith, surprisingly had accepted it as a fact of their relationship and chosen to move on. At least that’s what Clarke thought. In reality, the fact of Clarke’s innocence was worrying Lexa more than she cared to admit. Clarke was roughly the same age as she was but Lexa had experienced a handful of lovers, albiet against Jedi teachings. She assumed that all young Jedi did that, like it was some sort of unwritten rule. She’d never dreamed that any apprentice would have taken the no attachment rule to such lengths. Lexa knew full well that falling in love was prohibited within the Order. In fact, it was akin to a cardinal sin, a sin that she’d broken and paid a heavy price for. But Clarke hadn’t even considered sexual experimentation, let alone romantic attachment. Lexa knew she needed to get her heart in check and fast. 

Movement in the scrub to the northeast caught her attention. It was a desert hare scurrying about in the coolness of the morning. Lexa held her hand up, stilling their footsteps. She bent slowly and picked up a couple of pebbles off the desert floor. She quietly reached into the pouch she carried at her waist for her leather sling. She dropped one of the stones into the sling and whipped it in the air a couple of times before the stone thudded against the hare’s head. Clarke watched her handle the kill as if she’d been raised in the wilds of Arkadia III instead of in the Jedi temple. Clarke realized that Anya had left an indelible mark on Lexa. 

“You want to see if you can round up enough dried brush and twigs to get a cookfire going?” Lexa smiled as she started skinning the animal. 

“Yeah, I’ll check the roots of the succulents too, maybe we will get lucky.”

Lexa grinned at Clarke and Clarke blushed slightly at where she could see that Lexa’s thoughts had gone with her comment about getting lucky. Clarke’s face warmed with the flush that spread across her cheeks but it was the warmth in other places that made her even more embarrassed. She didn’t know why. She knew the feelings were perfectly natural. At least for most people they were natural. Not for a Jedi, she reminded herself. She was supposed to have better control over herself. She mulled her predicament over as she started picking up dried brush. 

Lexa cleaned the hare and quartered it then started looking for materiel that would burn. As she sorted through the undergrowth she heard a familiar voice call, “Youngun.” Lexa looked up to see Anya standing about ten paces ahead of her. Her face was void of emotion. Her right hand pointed to her left. Lexa knew it was a mirage. A hallucination. She felt her own forehead. She didn’t feel overly warm. She ignored the image. “Youngun,” Anya repeated. “So stubborn.” Lexa looked up again. Fine, she’d play along. She walked to where the mirage had pointed. She didn’t see anything that could be of any use to them. 

“Hey Lexa, I think I have enough to get a fire started,” Clarke called from behind her. Lexa scanned the horizon in front of her. There was nothing there. No Anya. Great, she was losing it. She wondered if she should tell Clarke. She decided against it. “Good, I’ve got a few sticks to throw on, as well.”

The rabbit was lean and dry but they were glad to get it. Clarke had also found a few roots with some liquid in them. The taste left a little to be desired but at least it let them conserve their canteen water. When they finished eating, Lexa threw the bones into the fire and kicked sand over the few coals. A puff of dust and smoke rose into the air. Looking through the haze, Lexa saw Anya standing there again, looking impassively but pointing to the same area of the desert. 

“Clarke, I need to tell you something,” Lexa started.

“Anya?” Clarke cried looking across the desert.

“Wait! You see her?”” Lexa asked in near disbelief.

 

“Yes! Anya,” Clarke stood up and moved toward the image. But as Clarke neared, the mirage vanished in a flash of white light. Both women converged on the point where Anya had indicated. Lexa still wasn’t entirely convinced that the vision had been Anya but at least if they were losing it, they were losing it together. 

Lexa continued looking all around but there was nothing there. Clarke was shaking her head too. They didn’t see anything. But then Clarke’s boots moved over a patch of ground that rang with a hollow metallic sound. Clarke stomped once and the ground clanged again. Both women fell to their knees and started clearing the earth in the spot where Clarke had stepped. It didn’t take long to reveal a metal disc about three feet in diameter. There was no handle visible but Lexa reached for the knife she kept at her belt and started working the blade around the circumference. Soon, she found the hinge and the locking mechanism. It took a couple of tries jimmying the lock with the knife but finally they heard a click. It took the both of them to pull open the heavy door. The hole was deep. Deep and dark. They could not see the bottom but there were iron bars making a ladder down as far as the light from the sun would allow them to see. Lexa lit her lightsaber and extended it into the darkness. They still couldn’t see the bottom but the air pouring out of the hole felt cool and damp. Clarke moved to climb into the hole. 

“Hey, what do you think you are doing?” Lexa asked.

“This isn’t a coincidence this is here, right where Anya was pointing, Lexa. She meant for us to find this. This will lead us to the smugglers.”

Lexa knew she was right but she didn’t like the idea of Clarke going blindly down a bottomless hole. “Let me go first.”

“I’m quite capable of taking care of myself, thank you. I found you, didn’t I? And besides. Your ankle.”

“My ankle is fine. I’m not letting you go down there by yourself.” 

“Fine, then we go together. But I’m lead on this one.” Clarke insisted. And there was really no use in arguing with her since she was already inside the hole and three rungs down the ladder. 

“Fine! But Clarke, please be careful.”

“I will. Wait for me to signal with the lightsaber and then follow me down.”

“Okay, but if you don’t signal within five, I’m following anyway.” 

Clarke looked up and saw the worry on Lexa’s face. “Fair enough.” She climbed back up the three rungs and kissed Lexa softly on the lips. Lexa wanted to deepen the kiss. She wanted to say something but she knew it was too soon to divulge the depth of her emotions. All she could manage was “Don’t fall.”

“I won’t.” Clarke promised and then started her descent. 

Lexa started counting as soon as Clarke was out of sight. She reached one hundred and eighty three when she saw a quick flash of blue light. She couldn’t see Clarke, at all. Just a pulse of light. If she’d blinked she’d have missed it. She hoisted herself over the lip of the lid and headed down into the earth. The air got colder the deeper she went but after a minute or so, she thought she could hear running water and the whir of machinery. Clarke’s lightsaber flashed a couple of times and then finally came on and stayed steady.   
“Hey,” Clarke called as Lexa neared the end of the ladder. “It’s some sort of water treatment facility. But there are tunnels and one I think heads in the direction of those mountains we were walking toward.” 

“There must be an underground lake or something nearby.” Lexa guessed.

“Yeah, probably too salty for drinking water but I bet they are purifying it here.” Clarke agreed. “Here.” She helped Lexa off the ladder so that she wouldn’t have to jump down on her ankle. But as Lexa’s body slid so closely down her own, Clarke wasn’t prepared for the burst of desire that the friction sent flooding through her center. Clarke couldn’t help herself. She claimed Lexa’s mouth and went to work exploring it greedily.

Not to be outdone, Lexa let her tongue seek out Clarke’s with as much fervor. And even though she’d promised Clarke that she’d go slowly and even though she’d tried to warn herself against falling in deeper, she couldn’t help but let her hands learn Clarke’s body. She felt her way up Clarke’s sides and pulled the blonde in even closer, insinuating her thigh between Clarke’s legs. The moan that escaped Clarke’s throat sent Lexa’s sex into overdrive. She gently pressed Clarke against the wall and started kissing down her neck while her hand cupped a full breast.

They were so engrossed in one another they nearly missed hearing the cart rolling toward them in the tunnel on the other side of the water plant. Lexa quickly went down on her haunches and Clarke followed suit. The lights on the cart illuminated nearly the entire cavern. They tucked in behind a rock outcropping, out of sight, but they could still hear the two men as their voices bounced off the cavern walls. 

The men bitched about being assigned water detail as they loaded five gallon bottles into the cart. As soon as the cart was full, they climbed back aboard the vehicle and headed up the tunnel. 

“Black Sun, you think?” Lexa asked.

“Our best lead yet,” Clarke nodded in the dark. She wished she could see Lexa’s face. She wanted to finish what they’d started but she didn’t dare ask without gauging Lexa’s emotions first and for that she needed to see her face. Well, not really she didn’t. She could do it through the Force but she’d promised Lexa that she would not do that to her. And really she didn’t want to. She wanted everything between them to be above board. “Lexa,” Clarke breathed.

Lexa moved her body up against Clarke and kissed her sweetly then whispered in her ear. “I want you, Clarke. More than I’ve ever wanted anything. But not here. Not like this. When I take you, when I lay you down beneath me. When I enter you, It will be in a more appropriate place and at a better time. I want to savor you.”

Clarke swallowed hard. It was frustrating, but she knew it was what she wanted too. Lexa’s undivided attention.


	18. Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The recovery crew scours Muunilinst. Clarke and Lexa talk about the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I realized that I had originally wrote that Harper accompanied the recovery crew and then I just dropped her. She's back in the action. I may fix the preceding chapters at some point in the future to include more Harper so it doesn't feel like she's coming out of left field. Also, I wrote this one in a rush and without a beta. I'm sure it is riddled with errors which I will also fix at some future date. Thanks for continuing to read this journey.

PW: 18

Titus could see the battlefront in the South as he maneuvered his ship toward Azgeda territory. The Polis tower standing proud on the horizon mocked him. Lexa was supposed to have taken in down. It had been a masterful plan! He’d worked months on the details and making the arrangements with his man inside the Mountain. The one thing he hadn’t counted on was his apprentice failing him. He sneered but reminded himself that the end result would be the same. Maybe the tower still stood but the planet was embroiled in civil war and that had been the goal. And ultimately, he would seat a Natblida back atop the twelve clans, a new Commander for a new age. He’d been certain that it would be Lexa but he searched his thoughts while his ship zipped through hyperspace. He now knew that the time to move on had come. His face settled into a smug visage as he saw the Azgeda Palace come into view in front of him. 

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Jasper, Monty and Harper hadn’t had any luck finding anyone who had remembered seeing the Jedi apprentice, Clarke or the Sith that accompanied her. Nor were they able to find anyone willing to discuss the murder in the spaceport. The had managed to work their way through three drinks and a few rounds of Sabacc. 

“What? No way!” Jasper cried when the Bothan he’d been playing laid down an Idiot’s Array soundly beating Jasper’s Pure Sabacc hand. The Bothan’s ears twitched, daring Jasper to contest the hand. 

“Come on, dude. I’ll buy your next drink, Soften the blow.” Harper patted Jasper on the back and pulled him away from the table before things could turn ugly. 

“I’m gonna hit the little boys’ room,” Monty called as he pushed away from the table. As Jasper and Harper settled in at the end of the bar, Monty made his way to the back of the cantina. When he entered the bathroom another patron rushed in behind him and locked the door. Before Monty realized what was happening, the assailant had Monty pressed up against the wall. The guy was at least twice Monty’s size but even though Monty could see out of the side of his face that wasn’t crushed against the concrete block wall, he still couldn’t see the guys face for the hood he wore. The hand that squeezed around Monty’s neck felt human. His deep voice speaking Basic with a Corelian accent also suggested that the man was human. “Who does the Sith travel with?” The man demanded.

“What?” Monty tried to feign ignorance.

The man grabbed Monty, spun him, and threw him hard against the wall, knocking the breath from him. “I won’t ask again.”

Monty coughed and struggled for air.   
“A Jedi apprentice. Her name is Clarke.” Monty felt bad for giving the girl up even though he didn’t know her at all. Especially since he didn’t expect to make it out of the bathroom alive anyway. 

“Do you have a photo?”

“On my datapad,” Monty pointed to his pocket. 

The man moved off of Monty and stood back a few spaces. He nodded his hooded head, indicating that Monty could pull out his datapad to show him the girl’s photo. “No tricks.”

Monty nodded in agreement. But it was a trick. The only one he had. His only chance at survival. Instead of a datapad, Monty pulled out his stun taser. He barely managed to get the device thumbed on before the man realized what was happening. Monty stunned the attacker just as the man’s finger pulled the trigger. The blaster bolt singed through Monty’s flight suit, burning into his left bicep but Monty couldn’t worry about that pain. He ran! 

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Raven and Luna had been hiking for about an hour when they reached a narrow spot in the trail that was surrounded by high rock walls on either side. 

“Careful,” Luna called. “It’s a great spot for an ambush.”

“I was just thinking the same thing.” Raven gave a silent nod of head to the ground in front of them. There were clearly fresh boot prints. Raven moved her hand to the hilt of her lightsaber. She looked at Luna. “Wait here.” Raven had gone about three steps when two men fell in front of her from the wall above and one moved in behind her. 

“We mean you no harm,” Luna called to the single thug who stood between him and Raven. 

“Well, we mean you plenty, pretty thing.” He licked his lips. 

The man’s disgusting gesture reminded Luna why she had chosen to live a life of relative isolation. She had to fight the urge to rip the man to pieces. She’d been practicing pacifism for so long that it should have come as second nature but practicing pacifism on her rig with other member of Flokru was a lot easier than practicing it in the world of corrupt men. While she debated how to disarm the man without hurting him, Raven had quickly dispatched his partners with her lightsaber. Before the wouldbe attacker could reach Luna, Raven cut his legs out from under him with her purple blade. 

“You didn’t have to do that,” Luna shook her head. 

“Well, it was better than doing nothing.” Raven powered down her sword. “Path’s clear now.” Raven said and turned away. 

“We have to do something with their bodies.” Luna went down next to the man the Raven had essentially cut in half. 

“We don’t have time for that,” Raven couldn’t understand the girl’s compassion for someone who’d just threatened to rape her. 

“We will make time.” Luna looked Raven straight in the eyes and something sad in Luna’s eyes melted Raven. 

“Fine, but you’re doing the digging.”

“We will burn them.” 

“I’ll get the wood,” Raven sighed and powered her lightsaber back up. 

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Bellamy had tried repeatedly to drag Octavia into conversation as the skimmed across the badlands in their rented landspeeder. She didn’t really know what to say to him. She knew that whatever she said was not going to be enough to satisfy the man. He clearly expected some sort of feeling that she’d never developed. He asked her about things that there was no way she would be able to remember. She reminded him more than a handful of times that she’d been very young when she was taken to the Jedi temple. That answer never seemed to stop the questioning. She was trying to find a new tactic when they came across the wreckage of a speeder bike. 

“Slow up,” Octavia called thankful for the diversion. “Let’s check it out.”

Bellamy let off the throttle and brough the speeder to a stop at the spot that Octavia had pointed to 

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Clarke and Lexa followed the cart track along the tunnel. The corridor was dimly lit by the occasional floor light. Even though the tunnel was wide enough for an X-Wing to fly through it, the girls walked close to each other. Every brush of Clarke's arm against her own brought a smile to Lexa's face. Lexa wondered just how long this joy could last. Even though she'd hinted at a future in which the two of them could luxuriate in one another's company, Lexa feared the day she could lay with Clarke would never actually come. It was a beautiful dream, nothing more. Lexa wasn't sure why she kept torturing herself by thinking about more. Still, a dream had formed in her heart. One she couldn’t keep from playing over and over in her lovesick brain. In her fantasy, Clarke decided to leave the Jedi and join Lexa in Polis. The ruled side by side, Lexa representing the Grounder factions and Clarke representing the Skaipeople and the Jedi. It was a ridiculous, childish imagining. Arkadia III was decades away from real peace and it would take a war to bring back the old ways. And even if Lexa could manage to rein in the various Grounder clans and find a way to work with their old enemies of the Mountain, the Jedi would never accept Lexa as the leader in Polis, nor would the Skaipeople, who had worked tirelessly to solidify their control over the capital city. 

Lexa looked at Clarke from the corner of her eye. The blonde’s face was flushed from the hurried pace they’d been keeping. Her jaw was tensed and her eye line set straight ahead in determination. Clarke was clearly ready to put the mission behind her. The realization that Clarke wanted to be anywhere but in the dark tunnel in the middle of the Badlands or Muunilinst pierced Lexa’s heart. 

Clarke felt Lexa’s eyes on her like a tender caress. She turned and looked into the intense green eyes. She was surprised at what she thought was pain lurking in them.   
“Lexa?” Clarke slowed and put her hand on her companion’s forearm. “Everything okay?”

Damn! How did she do that? No one could read Lexa as easily as Clarke. Lexa had spent years learning how to keep her face uneven and impassive. Yet with a single glance, Clarke broke into her soul. 

Lexa considered lying. It would have made things much easier. She could have continued the charade that they were comrades, friends, potential lovers. But they’d come to far for that. Lexa stopped. She pulled Clarke back down the corridor to a small alcove they’d passed a few minutes earlier. She knew they weren’t exactly hidden but the little recessed space would keep them out of sight longer should anyone come down the tunnel. “Clarke, we are getting close. I can feel it.”

“The Flame?”

“Yes, but more than that. The energy around us. It’s changing. It’s time for us to be honest with each other.” Lexa couldn’t stop herself from looking down at Clarke’s lips. She wanted to memorize their curve, their texture. She needed to taste them once more so she could think of their softness on cold, lonely nights. Lexa ran her fingers behind Clarke’s neck and pulled her into a soft velvet kiss. 

Clarke returned the kiss but could taste the goodbye on Lexa’s tongue. She broke the kiss shaking her head. “Lexa, don’t do this.”

“What?” Lexa whispered.

“Say goodbye.”

“Be realistic Clarke. This joint mission is nearing its end. You’ll go back to your Jedi. You’ll try to bring me with you. We both know that isn’t happening.”

Clarke wanted to tell her that she’d changed her mind about turning her over to the Council. She wanted to believe that there was a reason to hope, any reason, however small. “We’ll explain that it happened in battle, Anya left you no choice.”

“We both know that’s a lie, Clarke. I murdered her. The Council will demand justice for a Jedi Knight.”

Clarke looked down. “But. . .” Clarke struggled to find the words to articulate how she was feeling without saying too much but her emotions were too ramped up. She could feel that she was losing Lexa, losing the best thing that had ever happened to her. “I think I lo. . .” Lexa put her fingers over Clarke’s lips to prevent Clarke saying something they’d both regret later. 

“Look at me, Clarke.” 

Clarke stared at their boots, toe to toe. 

“Look at me,” Lexa ordered and hooked her fingers under Clarke’s chin gently forcing the blue eyes to connect with her own. “When this is finished, when we have the Flame back. I want you to promise me one thing.” Lexa waited to make sure that Clarke was really listening to her. When Clarke nodded, she continued. “I want us to have one night together. Can you give me that? Even knowing that I am a murderer. Knowing that I will kill again?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I told you that this,” Lexa waved her hand to indicate the mission she was on, “ this is all much bigger than you and me. Bigger than the Jedi really. This is a war for the soul of Arkadia III. I will see it returned to its proper stewards.”

“The Grounders.” 

“Not just the Grounders. But Trikru. It belongs to my people Clarke. And if that means war then I will shed blood for that cause.” 

“And Azgeda, the Mountain, the Skaipeople, my people, where do they get left, Lexa?”

 

“They can join my coalition. I’d be happy to have their representatives serve as ambassadors in my capital. But you haven’t answered my question. Will you let me love you? One night?”

“I want more than one night,” Clarke closed her mouth over Lexa’s and kissed her roughly. Lexa tried to pull away but that only served to leave her neck exposed to Clarke’s hungry mouth.

“Clarke,” Lexa panted. 

“Take me here, Lexa. Right here. Don’t tease me with promises of tomorrow. Give me right now.” Clarke grabbed Lexa’s breast and squeezed frantically. Lexa took both of Clarke’s hands and raised her arms above her head as she moved Clarke back against the wall, pinning her. 

“No, ai niron,” Lexa’s breathed over Clarke’s collarbone as she struggled with her desire to fuck Clarke senseless. “I won’t have you like this. Rushed and unfocused. I need to touch you in a way that will last a lifetime.” Lexa held their bodies against the wall until both of their breathing returned to normal. When she was satisfied that she had her own hormones in check, she pulled away. 

Clarke smoothed down her clothes. She wanted to hate Lexa. She wanted to rail at her some more and even though she knew it wouldn’t do any good and knew she was being childish, she lashed out. “Fine, you can have your fuck, Lexa.” 

“Clarke,” Lexa tried to reason with her, but Clarke had already started back up the corridor. 

They walked the rest of the way in silence and when they heard voices coming down the hallway, they crouched and crept alongside each other. As they neared the end of the tunnel, the smuggler’s compound came into view. It was a massive operation. The stayed in the shadows of the tunnel as they surveyed the space. One area was dedicated to stripping and repainting and outfitting stolen vehicles. Another section was a credit counterfeiting operations. Along the far wall, a line of transports was being loaded with boxes but it was impossible to tell if the items being smuggled were weapons, food rations, or something else entirely. Clarke tapped Lexa and pointed to John Murphy who played dice with a group of men in a circle near the stolen vehicles. But Lexa’s attention had landed on a small office space at the top of a flight of stairs. Clarke followed the line of Lexa’s eyes and there she saw the other smuggler who’d killed Finn, Charles Pike. He was talking to a tall, white, human male with long dark hair and a greasy goatee. 

“It’s in there,” Lexa whispered. “The Flame.”

“I’ll create a distraction and you go up there and get it.” Clarke offered.

“No, we are way outnumbered. We’ll wait and see if an opportunity presents itself.” 

Clarke nodded. They didn’t have to wait long. Pike and the other man left the office, the tall man turning off the lights and locking the door as the left. Lexa could still feel the Flame radiating from the office. “Let’s try to get up there.” Lexa whispered.  
“Ok,” Clarke responded then touched Lexa on the shoulder. “But Lexa, my answer is yes.”

“Thank you, Clarke. Thank you.”

“They made their way slowly and stealthily toward the stairs that led to the office. The skirted the perimeter of the complex, lurking in the shadows. They were nearly discovered by one smuggler who was looking for a discreet place to relieve himself. When they reached the stairs, things became a little more tricky. Once they started climbing they would be exposed. Lexa had been working on a shielding technique for months but she hadn’t perfected it and she had never tried to shield a second person. Lexa centered herself in the Force and projected an invisible aura around herself. She pulled Clarke in close to her and hoped that the aura was big enough to enshroud them both. They got up the stairs without being noticed but then discovered the the lock was electronic so basic lockpicking wasn’t going to work. 

“Dammit,” Lexa swore. “Well need the man to open the door.”

“Maybe not.” Clarke held her hand out over the pad and sought out any residual heat energy. She could clearly see the four numbers that had been pressed but they would have no way of knowing which combination. “2479 but I don’t know in what order.”

“Start trying them.” Lexa urged.

“What if a wrong combo sets off an alarm?”

“Then we fight our way out of here.” Lexa sighed.

“Here goes.” Clarke tried the first combination. It didn’t click but alarms didn’t sound either. On the seventh try, the door clicked. Clarke pushed the door open and Lexa hurried in behind her. The left the lights off, Lexa followed the call of the Flame. It was inside a locked desk. She took her knife from her hip and jimmied the lock. When she pulled the drawer open, the Flame was there glowing with a faint blue light. Lexa pocketed the Flame then looked to Clarke. “Let’s get out of here.” 

Clarke released a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. “Yeah, let’s go. Back down the tunnel? Or do you wanna try to steal one of their speeders?”

“Tunnel is probably the best bet. We can refill the water at the plant and then climb back up. Getting across the desert again won’t be a lot of fun but neither would being chased by all those guys.”

They’d made it about halfway back to the tunnel when sirens started screaming. Clarke thought that the smugglers had discovered them until blaster fire ricocheted off of a blue saber blade. The Jedi had come. They’d found them. It was all over.


	19. Wrinkles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Titus and Nia discuss the future. Clarke and Lexa take different approaches.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Major Character Death

The Peace Within: Wrinkles  
Titus walked the long carpet that led to the throne of Nia, the Queen of Azgeda. He loathed the woman but politics often made strange bedfellows. She was a necessary evil. A temporary but necessary evil, he told himself as he prostrated himself in front of her. It tore at his soul to bring himself low before her. It had been years since he’d been a lowly servant. He’d spent a decade studying the Jedi and Sith lore and worked tirelessly to claim the Sith mantel. 

“Ah, the last Fleimkeppa. Not so full of yourself now, are you?”

Titus bit back his retort. He knew he could crush Nia’s neck with a though but he was more likely to get what he wanted if he played along. “Sadly, neither of us can claim the authority that we once did.” He looked around the throne room. He could remember days when it was resplendent in its finery. The wall hangings were now tattered and the candlesticks had lost their luster. 

“I’m still Queen, Titus.” Nia held her head high and pinned him with her glacial stare. 

“Forgive me,” Titus nodded. She could posture all she wanted to in front of her subjects. Titus knew how the woman craved power and she couldn’t possibly be happy with the current state of her Queendom. “I believe I have an opportunity that benefits us both.”

“So your message said.” Nia waved her hand indicating that he had permission to stand. 

“Would it be possible to have a private audience?” Titus asked. 

“That depends. Do you have the map back to yesterday?” Nia study his face closely looking for a lie in his response. Titus noticed that the man who stood behind her left shoulder edged closer to the throne. 

“It’s on its way to me, as we speak. Do you have the vestibule? I’ll need to inspect it?” Titus answered. 

“That can be arranged.” Nia nodded.

“Privately, I hope.”

Nia’s lips spread into a wicked smile. “Of course. Follow me.”

Nia rose and headed down a hallway that exited the great hall to the left. The man who’d stood so closely to the throne moved to follow them. Titus cleared his throat. “Privately, I said.”

“Titus, this is my son and heir. Prince Roan.”

“Prince Roan. Ah, of course.” Titus extended his hand. He hadn’t counted on Roan being involved in the negotiations. It was wrinkle he hadn’t expected. And, Titus hated wrinkles. 

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Lexa kept moving toward the tunnel but Clarke had stopped. Lexa looked over her shoulder to see Clarke looking down over the railing. She was going to get herself spotted and maybe her head shot off! Lexa hurried back to Clarke as fast as she could in her crouched position. “Clarke, what are you doing? We have to go!”

“I think it’s only a scouting mission. I only see one lightsaber.” Clarke answered and tried finding a better angle to see the action below. 

Lexa pulled her away from the railing. “Look, it doesn’t matter how many of them there are. We have to get out of here.”

“I can’t just leave them, Lexa.”

“What are you talking about? Clarke. It’s the perfect cover. The smugglers will never see us. But we have to go, now.”

Clarke looked at Lexa. She knew the Sith was right. This was their best chance at escaping unnoticed while the smugglers had their attention diverted elsewhere. But Clarke just couldn’t leave without knowing. She looked back over the railing. She still saw only one blade and it was moving furiously trying to block blaster fire. Clarke knew that whoever it was, they were there looking for her. She wasn’t sure if they’d been sent to rescue her or apprehend her for going rogue. But either way, it was her fault they were there. She couldn’t just let them face the smugglers alone. She wouldn’t stand by and let them die. Clarke turned to Lexa. “We have to help them.”

Lexa’s face fell. She knew there was no changing Clarke’s position. She could see the guilt knotted in the space between her eyes. She knew Clarke wasn’t going to leave one of her own people. But Lexa had to think of her own people. Her responsibility was to Trikru. Her destiny was to return Azgeda III to its rightful stewards. Lexa closed her hand more tightly over the box that held the Flame. She’d wanted more than anything for them to work together for Arkadia III but looking at Clarke now, she knew that her loyalty would always be to the Jedi. “They’re your people. You have to do what you have to do, Clarke. I can’t help you. I have to think of my own people.”

Clarke shook her head. Tears stinging her eyes. “Lexa, don’t do this. Together we can win. We can go to the Council. We can work for the peace that you want.”

“Your people will never let that happen, Clarke. Not the Jedi, not the Skaikru. You know this.”

Clarke wanted to deny it but there wasn’t time and she knew Lexa was right anyway. “Lexa.”

Lexa grabbed Clarke, threading her fingers into her golden locks. The lips met and for one brief moment it was all gone, the fight below them, the politics that divided them, time, and space. They were a universe all their own, their hearts were two pulsing stars burning white hot. But the conflicting gravity of their real worlds split them apart. Lexa broke the kiss but held two fingers against Clarke’s swollen lips. “May we meet again, Clarke.” And then she was gone. Clarke waited for Lexa to make the turn into the tunnel before she ignited her blade and joined in the melee below. 

Clarke’s arrival into the fight shifted the dynamics. Now the smugglers face enemies from the front and the rear. They scrambled to find cover that would protect from both sides. Clarke ducked in behind a large shipping crate as a barrage of blaster fire whizzed her way. She deflected a couple of bolts with her blade, sending on bouncing back on the assailant who’d fire at her, hitting him square in the chest. Clarke carefully looked over the crate. She watched as Octavia took off the gun arm of one of the smugglers with her blue blade and then turned her attention to another attacker who was headed her way. Then, Clarke saw a man behind Octavia raise his blaster. Clarke wasted no time. She vaulted over the crate, swinging her blade in large sweeping arcs as she ran toward the gunman. She couldn’t let Octavia be gunned down, not when she’d come there looking for her. She wouldn’t be responsible for her friend’s death. Clarke was on the man in an instant. With one swing, she knocked the blaster from his grip, Then with a spin and a twirl of her blade, she ran the man clean through. As her blade pierced his abdomen, she heard Octavia yell, “Clarke. No! He’s with me.” 

Clarke turned and looked at the boy’s lifeless dark eyes. She’d been sure that he was going to shoot Octavia. But from where she was standing now, she could see that his blaster had been leveled at another man who’d been firing at Octavia from a corner that had been hidden from her view. Clarke didn’t have time to dwell on the friendly fire incident. She and Octavia still had blaster fire coming steadily at them. Clarke rushed to Octavia and pressed her back against the dark haired girl’s back. They became each other shields using their lightsabers to ricochet the gunfire back at the smugglers. Clarke felt the red hot sting of a bolt as it grazed her right forearm. She wasn’t sure how long they could keep up the defense. One of them was bound to take a lethal shot eventually. Clarke tried to count how many they were up against. She gave up at eight on her side because she wasn’t sure if the heads popping out of blinds to fire were the same person or multiple shooters hiding in the same location. She couldn’t see how many Octavia was facing. 

“Clarke, you see that speeder?”Octavia asked.

“The orange one?” 

“Yeah, let’s try to move toward it, okay?” 

“Any reinforcements coming?” Clarke knew that it was likely hopeless but was looking for any silver lining. 

“It was just me and Bellamy. Raven’s on planet but she’s hours from here."

“His name was Bellamy?” Clarke asked as they started moving in unison toward the speeder.

“Yeah. Skaikru.” 

“I thought he was one of the smugglers.” Clarke tried not to look back at the dead man. 

“Hey, Clarke. You think you can try your peace skill? Maybe calm these guys?”

“Too many of them and I’d have to focus on it at the expense of defending with the blade.”

“Alright. Let’s just get to that speeder. Nice and slow.” Octavia’s voice showed the fatigue of battle. Clarke knew that their time was running out. 

Clarke saw movement to her left. Two smugglers were breaking into a crate with crowbars. Clarke tried to deflect a blaster bolt their way but it went wide. She tried another, no luck. One of them realized she was targeting them specifically, so he laid down cover fire for his partner to continue busting open the crate. When she saw what they were after, she knew it was over. “Octavia,” She called as the bigger of the two men hoisted the bazooka up on his shoulder. “Run!” 

Clarke heard the explosion but it was dull thud. She turned to look at Octavia who looked as disoriented as Clarke felt. Clarke saw the men reloading the bazooka. She could see guns firing at them from all directions but the bolts dropped in mid-air as if they’d collided with something. The bazooka fired again. And just like the blaster bolts it hit the invisible forcefield and exploded. It took a couple of smugglers with them. Clarke struggle to make sense of it but then she looked up and saw the ignition of Lexa’s red blade. Lexa had come back. And she’d been shielding them somehow. Lexa’s red lightsaber caught the attention of a few of the smugglers and they trained their guns on her. It was their last mistake. She returned each bolt smoothly and efficiently. Within minutes, She’d cleared the compound and stood in the room littered full of bodies as some kind of angel of death. 

Clarke started to go to her but Lexa held her paralyzed in place. “I can’t let you take me in, Clarke.” 

Clarke wanted to say that she had no intention of taking her in. That she was happy that she’d come back for her. That she loved her. But Clarke’s world went black. 

Clarke woke up later. She was in a medbay, covered in bacta patches. She turned her head. Octavia was on the gurney next to her similarly covered in patches. A third gurney was covered with a white sheet. She knew it was the body of the boy she’d killed, Bellamy. 

“Where are we?” Clarke’s voice was gravelly. She needed water. 

“Sick bay, the Chancellor’s yacht.” Octavia sat up on her cot. “When I came to after whatever that Sith did to us, I sent up a distress beacon.”

“Lexa.” Clarke rubbed her head. It hurt bad. So it was all over. She was gone. 

“Are we still on Muunilinst?” Clarke asked hopefully. Maybe the Nightbleeder was still docked nearby. She tried to sit up but she got dizzy. 

“Hey, hey, take it easy. You’re not running any marathons any time soon,” Raven called as she came in the door. “You’re pretty dehydrated.”

“Are we on planet?” Clarke demanded. She tried getting up again. 

“Whoa. Calm down. No, we are in hyperspace. Here, have some water.” Raven poured her a cup of cool water. 

“I have to. . . I have to. . .to . . .get. . .” How could she tell them she had to get back to Lexa? “I need to go back to Muunilinst.”

“You’re not going anywhere right now.” Raven insisted. 

“You don’t have to go back to Muunilinst, Clarke.” Octavia called. “It’s Lexa you want, right?”

Clarke didn’t answer. 

“They arrested her. She’s here. She’s onboard. She’s being held in the cargo bay.” Octavia stood up and stretched out her back. 

It didn’t make any sense to Clarke. She’d just seen Lexa single-handedly take out an entire complex of smugglers all the while shielding her and Octavia from bodily harm. Clarke didn’t believe for a minute that the local authorities on Muunilinst had been able to subdue Lexa. But then the door to the medbay clicked open and a short, green Jedi master ambled in. “Awake you are, young apprentice. Questions, I have, mmm hmmm.”

“Master Yoda?” Clarke couldn’t believe that Master Yoda himself had come to retrieve them from Muunilinst. The Council must have really feared Lexa’s growing power. 

“Leave us, you will.” Yoda called to Octavia and Raven. Both apprentices bowed to the master before leaving. Raven gave Clarke an apologetic smile as she walked out the door. 

“Betray you, your feelings do, young one.” Yoda’s ears twitched as he looked into Clarke’s eyes.


End file.
